Once More With Feeling This Time
by gman391
Summary: They lost horribly and irrevocably. But Hinata got a second chance with her help so did Naruto and Sasuke. But that doesn't mean that things are any easier. Things have changed and they've got one shot to save it all.
1. Once More From the Top

A/N: Hey everybody. Yeah I know...where the hell have I been? Well I have no really good excuse except. In my own opinion this story was...less then acceptable. It was clichéd, poorly written and betaed. So while trying to make the next chapter work...I realized that it wouldn't not with what I had. All I can offer is my apologies for taking so long to knock this out. A big thank you to DustBunnyQueen for betaing this. Here we go: Once More Rewritten.

Naruto and Hinata made their way into the castle. This was it, the final battle between the last forces of freedom and the tyranny of Orochimaru. The long-time couple's thoughts flashed backward, remembering all their friends and family. Remembering the destruction of Konoha, the death of all those they had loved.

The only thing that kept either of them going at this point was each other. And they were determined to see the land free, or die trying. Orochimaru had established a massive fortress in the middle of the Elemental continent as a testament to his power.

The remaining survivors from the elemental villages had gathered their forces and made an all-out assault. Both sides had lost everything in the battle, Naruto and Hinata being some of the only survivors.

The pair entered the throne room to see Orochimaru sitting quietly on his chair, a quiet gleam of madness in his Sharingan eyes. Naruto clenched his fist. Even now after fighting him so many times, he still felt disturbed when he fought the body of Sasuke Uchiha.

"Well...looks like the fox brat and the reject have finally arrived. Are you proud of yourselves? You've done quite a bit of damage to my armies." The body surfer said with a light chuckle.

"We won't be satisfied until you're dead!" Naruto growled.

"That's the spirit. It'll make it so much more enjoyable when I crush you." Orochimaru said with a manic grin.

"The only one who's going to be crushed here, Orochimaru, is you." Hinata said

"I love it when they think that they have a chance. Don't you, Kabuto my boy?" The snake master said.

"Kabuto's been dead since the fall of Iwa." Naruto said.

"What's that Kabuto? Yes, I think it is time to deal with these pests." Orochimaru continued uncaring of Naruto's statement.

The last Sannin blurred out of sight reappearing in front of Hinata in a swirl of dead leaves.

*Gurgle* Hinata choked as she coughed up blood. The old heart defect from Neji's vicious beating years ago acted up as Orochimaru stabbed her in the stomach.

"Na—Naruto-kun." She whispered as she felt her strength leave her.

Naruto watched in horror as his wife died. As she fell to the ground, Naruto felt the last vestiges of sanity leave him. With a primal roar, he leapt at Orochimaru intent on destroying his hated enemy.

Orochimaru for his part laughed. As the last thing standing between him and total domination attacked.

**The Void **

Hinata looked down. She was in a place with no light no sound. No anything. Just emptiness.

"Is this death?" She wondered out loud.

"Not quite." A voice replied in a dry, gravelly tone.

Appearing from the emptiness a white cloaked figure stood in front of Hinata. His face was mostly hidden behind the high collared cloak. His eyes seemed to crackle with power. Hinata knew instinctively that this being was powerful than she could ever hope of being.

"What are you?" She asked softly.

"That's a little tricky to explain. I guess you could call me a cosmic maintenance man. It's not completely accurate but it'll work. You can call me Kai." The now named Kai answered.

"So what do you want with me?" Hinata asked.

"Well considering you're my last living descendent. I want to help you out." Kai answered with a deadpan air.

"You're human?" The indigo haired girl asked.

"Not anymore. As I said, it's complicated. But when I was human they called me the Rikudo Sennin." Kai answered.

"But I'm not related to you. You only had two sons." Hinata said with a frown.

"I think I know whether or not I had more than two kids. Admittedly, you're descended from my daughter. And in those days that just didn't count for much but your still of my line." Kai said irritated.

"You had a daughter?" The last known Hyuuga asked.

"Yes I did. All doujutsu bloodlines can be traced back to me in one way or another. Given that you're the last of mine, I'm willing to call in a few favours and give you a chance to stop all of this from happening." The white cloaked being answered.

"How?" Hinata asked. Hope long dormant made an appearance in her heart.

"I can send your consciousness back to the day of the Genin exams. After that, it's up to you. Doing so I'll turn this track into a dead end. It'll still happen but it won't be the main universe anymore." Kai said after a moment.

"What?" The pale eyed woman asked. She understood the first part but the second confused.

"Nevermind. I have to remember that this reality never learned high level quantum physics." The being said, his eyes narrowing.

"All right then. What about Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.

"Sorry, the Shinigami has dibs on his soul. I'm breaking enough rules as it is." Kai said not seeming very sorry at all.

"I need him. I can't do this on my own." The Namikaze demanded.

"I think you can. However, I'll give you a chance to convince me otherwise." Kai said with a shrug.

"Going back I'll be the Hyuuga Heiress. I'll be under too much scrutiny to act freely. Naruto-kun, on the other hand, can move around do as he likes. He is the only one who can get to Sasuke. I need to stop him from going to Orochimaru. Naruto is the best way to do that." Hinata said quickly.

"Valid, but I still can't send him back. The Shinigami would kick my ass." Kai said shaking his head.

Defeating the Juubi was one thing. Fighting a death god on his home turf? That was quite another.

"Well, can't you give his younger self his memories or something?" The indigo haired woman asked her brow knitted in concentration.

"No because I'm not allowed to directly interfere with the living." Kai answered.

"I'm living" Hinata pointed out.

"No you're just not dead. I never said that you were alive." The former human replied.

Hinata wasn't quite sure what to make of that. Deciding to ask about it later, she looked for a loophole.

"Okay, can I somehow give Naruto-kun his memories?" She asked.

"Yeah that could work. I'm going to give you the power to give three people their memory of the future." Kai said after a moment.

"Why three?" The former matriarch of the Hyuuga asked.

"It's the rule for this sort of thing, three, or seven and I can't get away with seven. This power is severely limited. It puts an incredible strain on the brain to deal with that much information at once. Only use it on people who can heal very quickly or are used to dealing with a lot of information at once." The white clad being said.

"So jinchuruki's are the only ones who will definitely survive?" Hinata said after a brief moment.

"They're the only ones I can guarantee that will survive. The rest, well it's a toss-up." The ascended Sage said.

"I'll use it then. Thank you." The pale-eyed woman said with a deep bow.

"All right then. In order to use this power you will have to attempt to use the punishment seal but place the thumb on the outside rather than in. Focus your will and future memories on the person and they will receive their memories of the future." Kai said.

Making a long string of gestures Kai placed his hand on Hinata's head and a small burst of energy passed between them.

"So, ready to go back?" Kai asked after he was finished.

"Yes." Hinata nodded.

"Then here we go." The former sage said.

For the second time in as many hours, Hinata passed out.

**Hyuuga compound (Day of the genin exams.) **

Hinata groaned, her head hurt and that bastard Orochimaru had stabbed her. As she opened her eyes, she was shocked to find that this was not the hide out that she and Naruto used. This was the old Hyuuga compound. But it had been destroyed hadn't it? She wondered if that dream of hers was real.

Using her Byakugan, she took a quick scan of the compound. It was real. She nearly felt herself collapse at that. No genjutsu, save the Tsukuyomi, could fool the Byakugan. And Orochimaru was too much of hands-on type of tormentor to ever settle with a Genjutsu.

It was real. She had a chance to save them all, a chance to keep her family alive. Tears glistened in her eyes only to be banished by years of emotional control.

"Not again. I will protect my family no matter what." She vowed.

Looking at the clock, she saw that it was time for the academy. Quickly getting dressed and slipping out of the compound, Hinata started to think.

She pondered about how exactly she was going to fix everything. True, the easiest method would be to kill Sasuke outright. But while she arguably had the skill to do so, Hinata was leery of that option. The Sasuke of the future had turned into a monster, true, but that was no guarantee he would this time. This became even truer if Naruto regained his memories and really worked at saving Sasuke from the darkness.

Naruto had only met two people that he had been unable to save: Madara Uchiha and Orochimaru. Naruto had also only met two people that he didn't want to save. Hinata firmly believed in her husband's ability to redeem people.

The question was how to get close to Naruto. Hinata knew that unless they were on the same team her father would have issues. She couldn't stand that but understood it. Plus, it would tip off people that she was not the same Hinata Hyuuga. When she was this age, she had been painfully shy and meek. So much so, that she could barely talk to Naruto without passing out.

If she didn't live up to those expectations, questions were going to be asked, questions she had no way of answering, which meant that despite the Hyuuga's power or maybe because of it she would be seeing Ibiki. Hinata had no desire to meet the scarred man from the Chuuin exams again.

How had Naruto passed the first time around? Hinata racked her brain. Naruto never really talked about it saying that it wasn't important. Stupid idiot always put others before himself. She chuckled to herself. Naruto may have been an idiot, but he was her idiot by all the spirits.

Making her way to class the Hyuuga heiress still wondered these things. She sat down at the old 'watching spot' as she thought of it.

Some had called Hinata a stalker when she and Naruto first went out. They had been partially right. The pale-eyed girl had spent an inordinate amount of time watching her crush, but not because of some deluded fantasy. Hinata had started watching to find out what made Naruto so strong. Over time, it had simply become a coping method for her. For awhile she could escape the harsh glares of her family as she watched the blond haired boy.

The fact that watching a person that had been called 'An ADHD squirrel on crack' proved useful for reconnaissance training was just a benefit.

Seeing Naruto bounce into the room Hinata firmly stood by her decision. She glanced at the clock, about 15 minutes before the test. Was that enough time? She berated herself for not asking more questions. Well...worst thing that could happen was Naruto failing again right?

Deciding that the risks were, in fact, worth it, Hinata made the requisite seal towards Naruto.

Who ducked...hitting Sasuke full force. Said Uchiha promptly passed out. Hinata controlled the small twitch in her arms. She was going to kill that blond baka! Three times this power could be used and Naruto had made her miss one! Hell, she didn't even know if Sasuke had any memories after Orochimaru took control.

Everyone was looking at Sasuke. Hinata weighed whether or not it was worth the chance of detection to try again with Naruto. No, she finally decided, there were too many people here. The last thing Hinata wanted was to waste another of her precious memory transfers.

Those two were ear-marked for Naruto-kun and Gaara. Hinata decided that if she was going to be stuck with Sasuke she wanted the two men who had consistently kicked his ass.

Iruka looked at Sasuke, who at this point had fallen down to the floor. He looked at Naruto and Kiba, the two most likely responsible for whatever it was that had happened to Sasuke.

With a loud sigh Iruka spoke.

"Alright, which one of you knuckleheads knocked Sasuke out? If I told you once I told you a thousand times: Sabotage is for enemies not classmates."

"We didn't do anything Iruka-sensei honest!" Naruto protested.

"Yeah, we want to kick Sasuke's ass legally." Kiba chimed in.

"Right...Well I have no proof so you get off this time. But so help me if I hear either of you two doing this when you make Genin. I will end you painfully." Iruka threatened.

"Yes Iruka-sensei." Both of them said in a defeated tone.

"Mizuki, do you mind taking Sasuke to the med-center?" The scarred Chuunin asked.

"Sure, no problem." Mizuki said, gingerly grabbing Sasuke and disappearing in a swirl of smoke.

"As for the rest of you, it's time for the written test." Iruka said.

Naruto groaned and looked around the room for any support.

"Just do your best Naruto-kun." It was Hinata, that weird girl who was always blushing around him and looking down at the floor.

She wasn't now. Naruto, though a dense person, still had a very well-honed skill when it came to figuring out who a person really was. It wasn't perfect, but more than once it had helped him out when trying to find things for his apartment. Thanks to that skill, Naruto knew something was wrong with Hinata maybe he should do something after the exam.

'_First things first.' _ He thought. _'I just have to do my best like she said.'_

Surprisingly Naruto did better than expected on the written exam actually managing to pass. However, he failed all of his other tests. Depressed over his failure he listened and agreed whole-heartedly to Mizuki's plan and temporarily forgot about his earlier plans to see if Hinata needed help.

Meanwhile Hinata was wracking her brain, where did Naruto go. She looked frantically with her Byakagan but couldn't find him. '_Wait he said something about a forest when I asked him about it in the future and there's only one forest he goes in right now...Naruto's go to be there!' _ She thought as she rushed off towards Naruto's hiding place.

**Forest**

Naruto looked through the scroll _'This shouldn't be too hard.' _ He thought as he began to form the hand seals.

Hinata caught up with Naruto and watched him for a few seconds.

"Okay let's try this again." She muttered and made the seal.

Naruto fell backward as his mind shut down his conscious thought processes so it could deal with the wave of memories being sent. Hinata was prepared for it and went over to him. Doing a quick scan with her Byakugan, Hinata found that her beau wasn't in any physical danger. Gently she put his head in her lap and waited for Naruto to wake up.

"So the Hyuuga princess finally acts on her feelings, too bad the boy's unconscious or I'm sure the demon would have fun with you." Came Mizuki's voice. "Now hand over the scroll and come with me and no-one gets hurt; except the demon." He said in a mocking tone.

"No, I will not let you kill Naruto-kun and I will not let you take the scroll." Hinata said in a cool tone.

What the hell? Mizuki thought this girl was supposed to fold like paper whenever you raised your voice and now she was standing up to him?

"I don't know what you're thinking girl, but there's no way you can stand up to me!" The traitorous Chuunin said doing his best to intimidate her. The girl slipped into a Juuken stance and said nothing.

"Mizuki you bastard! Attacking your own students?" Iruka yelled from the trees and leapt down.

"That is unforgivable!" The scarred man snarled as he settled into a basic Taijutsu stance.

"No matter how good you think you are Iruka, you have a fatal flaw. You care too much to let these students come to harm." With that, Mizuki tossed a ridiculously large shuriken towards Naruto.

Iruka dived to try and get the shuriken before it hit Naruto but he was ill positioned and missed. Hinata prepared and tried to do the same but Mizuki was too quick and attacked her, forcing her to defend herself rather than the blond. Despite Hinata's skill, Mizuki was quickly able to get the upper hand by using his reach at the cost of much of his chakra.

As they continued to fight, Naruto woke up. He remembered everything; he remembered dying at Orochimaru's hands, the fall of Konoha, the death of nearly all his precious people. He remembered how Hinata had saved him from his own depression, he remember swearing on the grave of his father and mother to protect Hinata.

As Mizuki brought down a kunai towards Hinata, Naruto once again saw red. Kyuubi chakra surged through him and in an instant, the kunai was gone, along with most of Mizuki's arm.

Mizuki screamed. Hinata and Iruka looked at Naruto in shock.

"I have had a very bad day. Now I really only have three rules I go by. 1.) Never touch my wife. 2.) Never hurt my people. 3.) Don't betray Konoha." Naruto said with an animalistic growl.

"D—demon." Mizuki whimpered. The man hadn't ever felt killing intent this powerful. By luck, he had been out of the country when the Kyuubi attacked.

"No I'm not, but you're going to wish I was. Onipo: Jigoku-no Doki!" The blond said his hands flashing through a set of seals.

His hands glowed with a demonic light. Naruto struck Mizuki with both palms. The man exploded in a shower of gore.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked quietly.

"Yes Hime?" The whiskered boy asked.

"Naruto-kun!" The pale-eyed girl leapt into Naruto's arms.

'_Did I miss something here? What the hell just happened?'_ Iruka wondered. First, the dead last of the academy had blown up Mizuki. Okay that was sort of good. Mizuki was a traitor and was going to die anyway. However, Naruto had used a demonic style jutsu, which was bad. Then Hinata had embraced Naruto for some reason. This was just confusing to the poor teacher.

"All right I know when I'm out of my pay grade. Let's get you two to the Hokage." He said after a few minutes.

"Alright Iruka-sensei." The two said.

They made their way to the tower with the scroll. As they entered, Sarutobi sat in his office waiting for him.

"Naruto you better have a good reason for using that jutsu. Considering it was banned in the Shodai's time." Hiruzen said coldly.

"Konoha Protocol 71443, Condition: Crimson, Password: Six paths become one. Recognition Code: Phoenix, Dragon, Turtle, Dragon, Tiger, Phoenix, Turtle, Tiger." Naruto said smoothly.

"But that's impossible....." The Sandaime said for once openly shocked.

"I used to think the same Old Man. It's good to see you again." The blond said chuckling.

"What just happened?" Hinata asked.

"Welcome to my world." Iruka muttered.

"Iruka's involved?" The current Hokage asked.

"No." The future Hokage answered.

"Very well, Iruka this never happened. Go home. You were asleep all night understood?" Hiruzen said. It was unmistakably an order.

"Yes sir!" Iruka said and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"Naruto-kun what did you do?" The pale-eyed girl demanded.

"Remember when I told you that the Hokages thought of everything?" The whiskered boy said sheepishly.

"Yeah..." The indigo haired girl said cautiously.

"Well, we have a system in place for potential time travellers." Naruto continued.

"You're kidding..." The Hyuuga heiress said in shock.

She had faced men with delusions of godhood; she had seen a man turn into a plant and back, heard a talking sword. But this stretched the limits of her belief.

"No, it was dear old Dad's idea." The blond said with a quiet snicker.

"Indeed, one of the few times I questioned the man. But it appears that he foresaw this happening eventually." The grey haired Hokage mused.

"Wait, so Konoha has a plan for time travel?" Hinata asked confirming the absurdity.

"Yep, we also have one for zombies, vampires, pirates, and a few others as well." The future Rokudaime said chuckling.

"Naruto, you may be the Hokage in the future, but remember that those are classified." Hiruzen said sternly.

"I didn't give her the codes just knowledge that they existed." Naruto pointed out.

"Almost as bad as you're father. Congratulations on becoming Hokage by the way." The Sandaime said warmly.

He was genuinely glad that his adopted grandson had done so well. But the Sandaime was worried about whatever it was that had made Naruto and Hinata come back.

"Didn't get it the way I wanted to." The blond muttered.

"Oh?" Hiruzen said with a quizzical eyebrow arch.

"Konoha's in for some rough times Old Man." Naruto said grimly.

"Tell me." The Sandaime ordered as all trace of the old man he normally was vanished.

So they told him everything. They told him of the invasion by Sand and Sound, of his own death, and Sasuke's defection. Told him of how Pein destroyed Konoha and How Naruto had killed Pein. How it seemed that killing Pein had sent the world in a downward spiral. In haunted tones, they spoke of the destruction of the five great villages. Of the lives lost.

At long last, they came to the end of it. When they were done both Naruto and Hinata looked drained of emotions and energy.

Hiruzen sat back in his chair and puffed a few times on his pipe.

"You know, if not for that recognition code I'd say you were having me on. As it is, you have given me a great deal to think about. You say Sasuke was given memories too?" He said after a moment.

"Yes, Naruto ducked and I hit Sasuke with the memory retrieval power. I don't know if he'll survive or not." Hinata said with a glare.

Naruto gave a sheepish smile to his wife.

"I think he will. And he will pass the makeup test. That, of course, leaves us with the question of what do with him." The old Kage said.

"Put me on his team, I'll keep an eye on him and try to help him." The blond replied at once.

"After all that you still want to save him?" A disbelieving Hiruzen asked.

"Sasuke was as much a victim as anyone. The seal, his brother, Madara, they all broke him in a way. I still remember the guy who took an attack for me on our first mission. I want to save him." Naruto answered.

"I see. Unfortunately assigning Hinata-chan to the team will be quite impossible. Even now the Hyuuga still have a lot of resentment for the Uchiha. Who among the rest of the Konoha eleven would you prefer?" The Sandaime asked.

The couple looked at each other before speaking.

"TenTen." Hinata said at last.

"Why is that?" Sarutobi asked.

The canny old man was trying to discern this Naruto's character. You can learn much from how and why a man chooses his allies.

"Well for one thing she was...will be my sister in law. Besides even now she's probably one of the best kuinoichi we have." The whiskered boy replied.

"Gai won't like it. I can probably swing it if you can tell me why beyond future ties." The old smoker said.

"Sasuke needs someone who is competent. He also needs someone who will be a friend rather than a fan girl. Sakura and Ino can't do that right now. TenTen can." Hinata supplied.

"A valid point. You said that Sakura becomes a legendary medic-nin under Tsunade right?" Hiruzen asked.

"Yeah, one of the best there's ever been." The future Hokage agreed.

"Then putting her in a melee combat team will do wonders for her. There is nothing quite like hands on experience for learning how to heal. Plus if anyone can shake her out of that fan girl stage Gai can." The current Hokage said.

"True, Bushy-Brow sensei was good at motivating people." Naruto chuckled.

"Well I don't like being apart from Naruto-kun but I guess it'll be okay." The indigo haired girl said pouting.

"Hey the Chuunin exam is in six months. We kick ass and take names. Become Chuunin and we can spend most of our time together." The whiskered boy said.

"Yes well if you two can stop planning the future. It's time for Hinata to get home. Naruto we need to talk." Hiruzen said calmly.

"About the protocol?" The blond enquired.

Sarutobi just nodded.

"Night hime." Naruto said to his wife.

"Good night Naruto-kun." The girl said giving a deep kiss to the blonde before leaving.

"As you know, the protocol automatically puts the time travelers as special reserve ANBU members. Can you handle it?" The Sandaime demanded.

"Give me three months to get my body up to stuff and the celestial weapon contract." The Rokudaime replied.

"You can use one of the celestial weapons?" The monkey summoner asked.

"Yeah, the Ame-no-nuhoko is what I got the first time around." Naruto answered.

The celestial weapon contract was a thing of mystery. Only those that were exceptional ninjas could even read the contract and only one person in a generation could sign it. If that person didn't sign it that generation didn't receive one of the heavenly weapons. Each weapon was said to have phenomenal powers.

Orochimaru had been the last one to sign the contract, gaining the Kusangi from it.

"Impressive. Now what plans do you have exactly? You wouldn't use condition crimson if you didn't have any." Hiruzen said after a moment.

"Well Old Man so far I..." The two Hokages discussed things long into the night.

**Hospital**

Sasuke felt pain. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence for him. Training yourself to exhaustion every day allowed one to become familiar all sorts of aches and pains. The mind raping by Itachi hadn't helped.

This was different though. This morning he had been full force with a slew of memories, or visions or maybe dreams? Sasuke didn't know what they were if he was honest. But he had watched in horrified fascination as he had betrayed everything he believed in. All so that he could kill one man.

Sasuke's horror turned to stark terror as Orochimaru took his body. Things were done to the once proud Uchiha. Sasuke's body was changed and transformed. As Orochimaru used the Sharigan to destroy the elemental countries one by one, Sasuke's terror grew.

Then he woke up.

"What the hell was that?" Sasuke muttered to himself.

"What was what Uchiha-san?" A tall man asked.

"I had dreams or maybe a vision but they didn't make sense." The raven haired boy answered absently.

"I'm Doctor Miyagi by the way. Now what's this about visions?" The doctor said dryly.

"I was possessed by Orochimaru. He used my body to destroy everything. It was terrible. So much death, so much blood. I saw my family massacred four years ago. I would have sworn that was the worst thing I'd ever see. It wasn't." The last Uchiha answered.

From birth, Sasuke had his parents hammer in the concept that you trust and listen to your doctor. They are trying to keep you alive. This ostensibly is a good thing.

"Well I can't explain that Uchiha-san. According the Yamanakas you did receive a vast amount of information into your brain. They theorize that because of the Sharigan's copying ability your brain was just barely able to keep up." The old doctor said.

"If it hadn't?" Sasuke asked quietly.

"The brain isn't meant to process that much information. Only people who are used to the strain or have a genetic predisposition to dealing with it would survive. Anyone else they would have been brain dead." Miyagi answered.

"I see..." The onyx-eyed boy said.

The thought of his brain frying would come to haunt Sasuke's dreams in the coming weeks.

"You got lucky Uchiha-san. We'll want to keep you overnight for some tests but you should be out of here tomorrow." The tall doctor said.

"What about the Genin exams?" Sasuke asked.

"I have no idea on that Uchiha-san. I'd expect that the Hokage would give you some sort of make-up test." The doctor gave a shrug.

"Hnn." The last Uchiha settled for his standard grunt.

"If there is anything else?" Miyagi asked.

Sasuke was abruptly reminded that all ninja have a psychological test to pass. True, it wouldn't prevent you being a ninja. It would serve as a black mark against you and prevent promotions.

"About that vision? You won't tell anyone right?" Sasuke demanded.

"No, the Akake Oath prevents me from sharing patient information save in a case where not telling it would harm another. Your vision doesn't fall under that." The doctor said wryly.

"Thank you doctor." The last Uchiha gives a small nod of respect.

"No problem Uchiha-san. I take my oaths very seriously."

"Alright Doctor. You know it's weird, even with in the span of this conversation the vision's starting to fade." Sasuke thought out loud.

"That may be the mind trying to protect itself. Even with your genetics helping you that was a lot of information." Miyagi said with a shrugging gesture.

"Will I get it back?"

"There's no way to tell." The doctor answered.

"Hnn." Sasuke grunted.

"Anyway you'll spend the night here we'll release you in the morning." Miyagi said.

The doctor finished writing on the chart and left the room, leaving Sasuke alone with his thoughts. Even now, the memories were starting to fade. Thinking quickly Sasuke grabbed one piece of paper. He then wrote the three 'failure points' as he thought of them. Along with the some solutions he figured out. On the page was written:

-Going to Orochimaru

: Stay as far away from that crazy bastard as possible. Don't get the Curse Seal!

-Attacking Konoha

: Do not let yourself get consumed by revenge. Only the Elders and possibly the Sandaime have to die.

-Trying that suppression technique without mastering it.

: Don't do this without having a seal master present to draw the seals.

Looking over his list Sasuke gave a grunt of satisfaction. He didn't know if that vision was real or not. But if it was now he had a game plan to stop it. With that done Sasuke tried to continue working on the plans with less and less details until he drifted off to sleep.


	2. Time Line? What Time Line?

A/N: if you have not read the first chapter please do so this story has been entirely revamped. For reasons explained in that chapter's A/N. A warm thank you to DustBunnyQueen for betaing this.

*START THE STORY*

Naruto groaned as he made his way into the classroom. It had been a long night. With little sleep and no coffee, the blond was not a happy customer. Still, it had been productive for him and his grandfather figure. Even now, the Sandaime was launching a massive counter surveillance sweep. In theory, it should pick up the most troublesome and well placed traitors but leave the worthless ones intact. Time would tell if it worked.

Hinata raised an eyebrow at her husband asking what had forced him to stay up all night. Naruto gave an almost imperceptible nod and a look saying 'later'.

Iruka walked into the classroom. He spared a look for Hinata and Naruto before launching into a speech. The speech was one that most teachers used. It stressed the importance of loyalty and that it was no longer play time.

"...That said you'll be split up into three man teams under a Jonin. Any questions?" Iruka finished his speech.

"Yeah, how are the teams formed?" One kid asked.

"In general we have a tracker team, intelligence team, a combat team, and a general purpose team. Teams are purpose built to fill out platoons. For example, teams 7-10 are being used to fill out 12th platoon. Teams 1-3 are going to the 3rd platoon and so on." The scarred teacher explained.

"What are the teams?" Naruto asked.

"Well let's begin. Team 1 is..." Iruka began answering.

Iruka went through the list. Curiously he left team 7 out and skipped straight to eight.

"Iruka-sensei, what about Sasuke-kun and I?" Sakura asked.

"I was getting to that. Because Sasuke's test scores show he could pass he is being given a headband. But to balance it out team 7 will be getting a more experienced genin from Team 9. TenTen was her name. In turn, you will go to team 9 and serve under Maito Gai. Team 7 will consist of TenTen Yojimbo, Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki under Kakashi Hatake." Iruka explained.

There was a scream of outrage from the fangirls at being denied their 'Sasuke-kun'. The rest of the class chuckled while Sasuke mentally thanked God that he didn't have a fangirl on his team. But wasn't Sakura supposed to be on his team? Sasuke wondered. Maybe the visions had been false.

"Alright, your senseis should be here by noon. Take this time to get to know each other." Iruka ordered.

Sasuke shrugged. He didn't really want to get to know Naruto: he was loud annoying and an idiot. Maybe the visions were right about the blond having hidden depths.

"Hey, Sasuke." Naruto said. For once not shouting like a chimpanzee on crack.

"What, no 'teme'?" Sasuke asked confused.

"We're ninja now. We should grow past that sort of thing right?" The blond offered as an answer.

Sasuke very quietly shifted himself to a fighting stance. This was obviously not Naruto.

"Naruto, what's your favourite food?" The Uchiha asked.

"Ramen." The whiskered boy said grinning.

"Okay." The onyx eyed boy said.

Okay maybe it was Naruto. _'No wait, it's not like it's hard to find out the favourite food of someone. No I'm going to need a better test...I know the Fox!' _ Sasuke thought to himself.

"So what do you think about the Kyuubi?" Sasuke asked carefully watching the orange clad boy.

"You do remember then." Naruto answered not missing a beat.

"Remember what?" The last Uchiha hedged.

"The future." The blond answered with a cocky smile.

"You too?" Sasuke was actually fairly shocked by this.

"Who do you think that jutsu was trying to hit? How much?" The whiskered Genin continued.

"Not much just flashes and senses of what should be. Like we should have Sakura on our team. You?" The black haired Genin replied.

"Everything. My...tenant healed me fast enough that the information overload didn't kill me." Naruto answered.

"So then the Orochimaru thing...it's all true?" Sasuke asked with a sigh.

"Pretty much." The blonde said with a shrug.

Sasuke reflected that in Naruto's shoes...well there would be one less Uchiha in the world. There may or may not have been explosions. Either way he'd be dead. Yet Naruto didn't seem like he wanted to kill him. Just the opposite, Naruto seemed like he wanted to help him.

"How the hell do you not want to kill me?" The black haired boy asked finally.

"That's not who you are right now. I'm willing to give you a chance." Naruto answered.

With the visions he had Sasuke knew that Naruto was a better person than he was. But to have it shoved in his face like that...

"Thanks. You know this TenTen girl?" Sasuke asked. Deciding to leave the question of why Naruto was a good guy for later.

"You could say that. She's one of the best kuinoichi out of the academy in decades. Has a knack for weapons. Thrown or melee doesn't matter, but she prefers thrown." The whiskered boy said with a smile.

"Good. We both need to get stronger. Orochimaru's coming for me and I don't intend to give the bastard my body a second time." The last loyal Uchiha growled.

"Alright I'll see what I can do to help. You're really shaken up by this aren't you?" The blond asked.

Internally Naruto was dancing a jig. Therapy Technique success without application! More importantly, Sasuke seemed willing to learn and let go of his hate. If he played his cards right Naruto felt that he could make Sasuke into the hero he was meant to be. No angst, no problem.

"I don't remember much but I do remember being a monster. Even worse than...him." Sasuke said.

There was no question as to whom 'him' referred. Itachi Uchiha. Sasuke still had issues with the man.

"Don't worry, it won't happen this time." The future Hokage gave a handshake.

The two lapsed into silence. They had been talking quietly. During the span of their conversation, the class had emptied leaving them alone.

"We have some time before Kakashi shows up." the dark haired boy said.

"So?" Naruto asked.

"Well, let's wait for this TenTen person. Leave a note and go have a spar. I want to see if you're any better with those memories of yours." The Uchiha answered.

"Hey, it's not like I've had time to train." The whiskered Genin said with a look.

"Yeah, but experience is a quality all its own." Sasuke retorted.

"Fine." The blond said with a grin.

The two only had to wait a few minutes before a very irate TenTen came into the classroom.

"You two bakas the ones on team 7?" She growled.

"Hai, I take it you're our third teammate." Naruto replied laconically.

"Yeah, I didn't want it. I don't like this and I don't like you." The brown-eyed girl said.

"Hey, Sasuke, it's a girl who isn't a fangirl over you. Should we perform a sacrifice to the gods?" The whiskered Genin asked.

Sasuke gave a look and shrugged. Naruto was purposely baiting her. No reason not to play along. Besides, Naruto's pranks were funny as long it wasn't on you.

"Even if we shouldn't, I'm doing it anyway." The onyx-eyed boy deadpanned.

"Goat or pigs?" Naruto asks.

"Pigs I think, I like goats for some reason."

"But where are going to get a priest?"

"The Uchiha clan has one on retainer." Sasuke answered.

"Ahh..." The blond nodded sagely.

"Are you mocking me?" TenTen asked dangerously.

"Would I do that Sasuke?" The whiskered Genin asked.

"Yes."

The last Uchiha had no intention of getting between the angry girl and Naruto.

"Traitor." The blond muttered.

TenTen began looking through her scrolls.

"I prefer to think of it as creatively protecting myself." Sasuke answered.

"...Is that a mallet?" Naruto asked.

TenTen gave a manic grin before bringing it down on Naruto's head. Naruto disappeared in a cloud of smoke seconds beforehand. Leaving behind a log.

"Panda-chan why?" The whiskered boy asked.

"You know why, and don't call me Panda-chan!" The weapon mistress snarled.

"Calm down. It was only a joke." Sasuke interjected.

"Why the hell should I be calm? I just got taken from my team and put with two people I don't know at all under my sensei's self proclaimed rival. The Uchiha only passed because he's an Uchiha and the blond idiot only passed because he's the Hokage's favourite." TenTen snapped at Sasuke.

"Harsh. Do you really think that the Sandaime would do that? He's always done the best he could for Konoha. I know you're pissed and you have every right to be. Don't take it out on us though. We didn't do anything. Whether you like it or not we're a team now. So don't fly off the handle because I made a joke. Your better than that, or so I was told." Naruto rebuked.

As rebukes went, it was pretty mild. Sasuke thought. Still he could see TenTen's reacting to it. A flash of Naruto in the Hokage's robes appeared in his mind.

TenTen, for her part...felt ashamed. She was a veteran Genin. Yet this Naruto character was acting as the mature one here. Looking into his eyes, she didn't see a fresh, untried Genin. Instead, she saw the eyes of someone who went through hell and came out the other side. There was a quiet sort of maturity granted by long years of experience.

TenTen remembered seeing eyes like that on Gai-sensei. On the rare occasions he was truly being serious. _What the hell have you been through Naruto?_ She wondered. Naruto held her gaze for a few seconds before smiling. And like that TenTen snapped out of her thoughts.

"Yeah alright." The brown-eyed girl said with a slight shake of her head.

"Good. Sasuke says that our sensei is chronically late. He wants to go have a spar and leave a note. You up for it?" The blond asked her.

"Sure." TenTen agreed.

Sasuke left a note and they made their way to the training grounds.

**Training Grounds**

"Alright standard three way duel, Taijutsu only." Naruto said.

The other two nodded. Each slid into their preferred stances. They watched each other none of them willing to make the first move. A branch snapped in the distance serving as the signal to attack. Naruto moved first, landing a haymaker on Sasuke and using momentum to continue moving into a vicious cartwheel kick on Tenten.

TenTen dodged and threw an axe kick towards Naruto's unprotected back. Naruto barely managed role out of the way in time but was greeted by a front kick from Sasuke. Naruto blocked the kick, but was caught off guard when TenTen introduced him to a side kick. The blond dropped back for a moment content to let his other two teammates have at it.

Sasuke began series of quick punches. TenTen dodged most of them but grabbed the last one and pulled Sasuke into her knee. Sasuke gave a groan as he fell.

Naruto then got back into the thick of it, sending TenTen flying with a well placed side kick that slid through her guard. Sasuke got up just in time to see Naruto launch a back fist that brought him down again.

"Alright, I think this round goes to me." The blond said.

"Weren't you the dead last?" TenTen asked a she got up.

"Was I? Or was I just acting the entire time. Not everyone has something to prove. Sasuke here is the best in the class. But I think that if he really tried Shino could give him a run for his money." Naruto replied.

"Could not." The last Uchiha growled as he pushed himself up.

'_Damn I'm going to feel that one tomorrow.' _ He thought to himself.

"From what I've seen, the guy is tricky. You're fairly straight forward when you fight. Would you win? Probably, but it would be close." The whiskered boy pointed out.

"Hnn." Sasuke settled for his standard grunt.

"Does he do that often?" The weapon mistress asked.

"Sometimes." Naruto chuckled.

"Do we go again or...?" TenTen decided that now was not the time to come down on her teammates.

"I'm good to go what about you, Sasuke?" The blond asked.

"You're always good to go you stamina whore. But yeah I'm good." Sasuke said.

It took a few seconds for him to realize that he had made his first joke in years. Naruto just grinned.

"Stamina whore?" The brown eyed girl asked blinking.

"I can out last pretty much anyone in a fight. And I can get back up and do it again if I have to." The whiskered boy said, grinning wider.

"Seriously?" The bun haired girl asked.

One of the major problems for any ninja in open combat was stamina. Unless you trained an insane amount the body could only go for a few minute before needing to rest. It just wasn't designed to fire at all cylinders continuously. Some think this is why most ninja have learned to talk during fighting, as talking provides both parties with a short breather before resuming combat.

"Yeah." Sasuke answered.

"You know you guys are nothing like your files." The weapon mistress commented.

"We've both had to do some soul searching recently. We grew up a bit." Naruto answered with a shrug.

"If you say so, round 2?"

They both nodded.

Kakashi walked into the training ground. He was a might bit annoyed. They had walked out on him, that wasn't supposed to happen! Okay he had planned to make them wait for six hours but that was no reason to leave.

In the clearing Naruto stood still fresh as a daisy compared to his team mates. Both TenTen and Sasuke were gasping for breath but neither looked ready to admit defeat. With a look, the two launched a simultaneous attack, Sasuke going high and TenTen low. Naruto blocked Sasuke and jumped over TenTen. Naruto kicked Sasuke's knee out from behind and forced the boy into TenTen. The two collapsed in a heap.

"Well that's another round for me. Seriously, you can't use the same attack twice." Naruto said with a laugh.

"Next time whisker boy, next time." Sasuke growled.

"Well if you're done beating the crap out of each other, explain why you're not at the academy." Kakashi said wryly.

"You're always at least an hour late, and we figured it would be worse this time because it isn't mission critical. So instead of sitting the academy we figured we get to know each other." The blond answered.

Kakashi was a bit chagrined at this. Was his reputation that bad? Apparently it was. Well at least they seemed at ease with each other.

"By beating the crap out of each other?" The one-eyed Jonin asked wryly.

"Best way to learn about someone is to fight them." Naruto said with a shrug.

"That's what Gai-sensei says. Naruto is very much a free style brawler, very adaptive and relies more on trickery than strength. Sasuke is a collected fighter who relies on his speed to carry the day." TenTen continued on.

"TenTen, conversely, is a conservative fighter who only attacks when she thinks she has an advantage. But when she does have an advantage she exploits it to the limit." Sasuke finished up the critique.

"I see." The silver haired man said.

The truth was, he did see. Fighting didn't allow you to keep up the pretences and social masks of normal life. A skilled fighter or an experienced one could read the subtle signs and find out a lot about someone that way. But none of these kids should have the experience to do that yet.

Well maybe TenTen did. But the other two sure as hell shouldn't. Kakashi made a mental note to beat the crap out of the briefing officer later.

"I see, in the name of tradition; let's sit down and introduce ourselves." He said.

The trio sat down and waited as Kakashi looked over them with a critical eye. They had potential. Hopefully it would be enough.

"Shorty, you start this off."

"Thanks, Tardy Sensei." Naruto gave a smirk.

"Anyways. My name is Naruto Uzumaki; I like Ramen, friends, and badass ninjutsu. I hate emo people and traitors. Take it away Panda Girl."

"My name isn't Panda Girl!" TenTen shouted and smacked Naruto in the head.

Brushing herself off she continued.

"My name is TenTen. I like weapons, training and my friends. I also hate emo and traitors. I want to prove that a Kuinoichi is equal to any man. Broody, you're up."

"Why is my name Broody? You just met me." Sasuke said with a scowl.

"You look like a brooder." She answered with a shrug.

"Shut up. My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I like training. I hate a lot of things. I have no dreams but an ambition. To kill a certain man and rebuild my clan." The black haired boy said.

"Any you wonder why she called you broody." Naruto mocked.

"Shut it whisker boy." The last Uchiha grumbled.

"Umm, sensei, are you going to finish this up?" TenTen said tacitly ignoring them.

"My name is Kakashi Hatake. I like lots of things. I have...dislikes. My dreams? Well I'd tell you but you're too young." The silver haired man answered.

"Five Ryo says it's something involving porn." The blond chuckles.

"Sucker bet." Sasuke retorts.

"Ahem. Yes, well, meet here at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow okay. And don't eat if you don't want to throw up." Kakashi said.

The man disappeared to give the briefing ninja a beating and to avoid Naruto's antics. The trio nodded and left the training ground.

**The Next Morning**

Naruto woke up with a start. Kabuto, where was he? Where was Konohamaru? Looking around the blond collapsed onto his bed_. _

'_Just a dream' _He thought, before looking over at his clock.

"Crap!" He swore. He was late!

Moving quickly as he dared the blond made his way toward the training ground. Landing in a huff he looked at his two teammates.

Sasuke spoke up "You're lucky whisker-boy, Sensei isn't here yet; or I would kick your ass for being late."

"Hey, I worked hard yesterday training and forgot to set my alarm; give me break." Naruto countered.

"Naruto, even if you were training it doesn't excuse being late for your Genin test." TenTen countered back.

"Yo." Kakashi said arriving on the field. Looking at two irate Genin and one apologetic one, he concluded that Naruto had done something stupid again. Kakashi placed an alarm clock on the training post and set it for noon.

"Well, seeing as we're all here let's get this test started shall we?" Kakashi said as he held up two bells.

"You have to get these bells from me before noon; the one that doesn't will be sent back to the academy. If none of you get the bells then you will be dropped from the program." Kakashi finished and attached two bells to his belt.

"Begin." Kakashi said and two of his potential students disappeared, but Naruto stood there as if thinking.

"Alright, Sensei, here it comes!" Naruto yelled while creating a small army of shadow clones and sending them at Kakashi.

'_Shadow clones? When did he learn that? And the way he's using them shows a lot of familiarity.' _ Kakashi had time to think just before he began dodging and destroying clones. Naruto, for his part, left and went to look for TenTen and Sasuke.

Finding TenTen he asked: "What's the real purpose of this exam?"

"Not sure, I mean Gai-sensei didn't do the bell test with us, but it seems like there's more to this then the bells right?" TenTen replied.

"Yeah, he's a Jonin, and while you and Sasuke may be good; whoever heard of a Genin taking down a Jonin?" Naruto answered.

TenTen thought for a moment. '_Naruto's right there's more to this I'm good and Sasuke probably is too but we're still out of our league by ourselves so that means...'_

"Naruto, this test is about teamwork!" She said. "We have to find Sasuke and work together even if one of us gets dropped from the program." She finished.

"Sasuke, get your ass out here!" Naruto shouted.

"You've gotten better." The dark haired boy said jumping down from a tree.

"So what are we going to do?" He asked.

"Can you guys play distraction with my clones?" The future Kage asked.

"Yeah." TenTen said.

Sasuke just nodded.

"Alright, go. I need you to put him off balance. Sasuke, use your fireball; with TenTen that should throw him for a bit."

The other two nodded and went to attack Kakashi.

TenTen came into view and began throwing even more projectiles at Kakashi, who dodged and blocked most of them. The masked Jonin wondered why TenTen was attacking head on like this; her files indicated she already understood the basis of a good Genin team.

Sasuke came out of the shadows with a rather impressive fireball. Kakashi was impressed. Normally Genin couldn't use C-rank techniques until they were older. Naruto didn't count.

Using a kawarimi to dodge the fireball, Kakashi considered his options only to get a flying kick to the back of his head. Cursing as he staggered under the blow, he felt something. Reaching back to a pouch he found....nothing.

Kakashi swore, where was his Icha-Icha?

A good distance away Naruto appeared holding the book.

"Hey, perverted-sensei. I've got your perverted book. Either we all pass or I get Sasuke to burn it."

"Naruto if you give me back the book you and TenTen can pass." The one-eyed man ventured trying to save his book.

"Nope, you have to pass Sasuke too." TenTen answered Kakashi's attempt at a bribe.

"Alright, alright you all pass." Kakashi said. "Now give me my book back!"

Kakashi cradled the precious object in his arms after checking to make sure it was unharmed. Looking at his team with glare Kakashi decided that torment was on the agenda.

"Alright, meet me here in two days and we'll start some missions and training." Kakashi said. With that, he left the three Genins alone.

"Well that was interesting wasn't it?" The whiskered boy asked.

"You know, Naruto, I didn't think that plan would work but you surprised me." The weapons loving Genin said.

"Hey, I'm the most unpredictable ninja ever--according to Iruka-sensei." Naruto retorted.

"Whatever." Sasuke said and walked off.

"What is his problem?" TenTen asked.

"Not sure, he's come to some revelations recently. Think it's bothering him." The blond said.

"Huh?" The brown-eyed girl blinked.

"Sorry, it's not my story to tell." The future Hokage shrugged.

"You're different from the briefing." The bun haired girl muttered.

"I am, so is Sasuke. Don't push; he needs time." Naruto said, his voice conveying all of his years--both future and past.

"How do you know?" TenTen asked warily.

That voice just didn't fit on a twelve year old boy. It was so full of...not angst, but pained memories. Of long forgotten battles and comrades lost.

"Call it the voice of experience." The whiskered boy shrugged.

"I'm going to find out what exactly you two are up to. You know that right?" The brown eyed girl stared.

"You'll try. I'm heading out. See you later." Naruto said before disappearing.

TenTen pulled out a kunai and threw it at a tree 40 ft away. It hit a small knot in the wood.

"One way or another, Naruto, I'll find the truth. I never miss a target." She said.

**The Hyuuga Compound**

"What is the meaning of this?" Hiashi asked as his daughter stood in front of him seeming to make no apology for her action. "Neji is of the branch house and must be sealed you know that." Hiashi continued

"Father, Neji doesn't need the seal any more than I do. He could have been the heir as easily as me; and I will not see the main house torment the branch house any longer!" Hinata retorted angrily.

"You do realize that the Branch House could have killed us whenever they felt like it, Father? All it would take is some poison here and there and we're all dead." The heiress continued on. She hadn't meant to release the seal, but seeing Neji had made her forget about changing the timeline.

"You are speaking treason against the clan girl!" The Hyuuga patriarch said, his anger seeming to show.

"Treason is what happened to your brother and my mother!" The blue haired girl said back, raising her head and allowing emotion to colour voice. In Hyuuga terms, she was throwing things at her father.

'_Wait, she knows about my brother? And what does she mean about her mother? And where the hell did she get this backbone of hers?' _Hiashi decided to start at the beginning.

"What do you know about my brother? Or my wife, for that matter?" Hiashi inquired getting his temper back under control.

"I know your brother was originally forced by the clan elders to sacrifice himself to save you, but he chose to sacrifice himself as a brother instead. There should never have been the choice between the two. I know my mother was poisoned after giving birth to a 'proper' Hyuuga heir in the form of Hanabi, because the elders thought her nature was weakening us." The Heiress answered.

"What are you saying, the elders murdered my wife? Speak quickly girl, or I'll seal you myself!" The grim faced man said, his anger boiling at the thought of his wife's death not being natural.

Contrary to popular belief, Hiashi had loved his wife deeply. Not the most demonstrative of men, he had never shown it. But the unspoken bond between him and his wife was the stuff of legends within the Hyuuga clan.

"You didn't know? The elders told me..." Hinata trailed off. After thinking for a second, she began again.

"My mother was poisoned by Hiroka Hyuuga acting under orders from the council of elders. The poison was such that it acted on my mother's chakra whenever she used it, and mother used it a fair bit because of her profession. No one knew except those that did it and ordered it. I found out from a scroll." Hinata said.

Hiashi felt many things as his daughter spoke; anger, admiration for his daughter, but above all, hatred. Hatred for what the elders had done to his family all in the name of making the Hyuuga's strong.

"Where did you find this scroll, Hinata?" Hiashi asked almost conversationally.

Hinata had only seen her father act like this once, when Hanabi had died. Sometime later, a sound base had been utterly destroyed by an enraged Hiashi. Reminding people why exactly he was considered one of the most powerful ninjas in Konoha.

"I'll show you father." The Heiress answered.

She led her father to a hidden section in the library, pulling out the scroll containing the written orders for Harumi's execution. Hiashi stared at the scroll.

"It seems I have to do a bit of work; thank you, Hinata. I still want to know why you've changed so much, but that can wait until after I deal with the Elders." Hiashi said his voice seeming to lower the room temperature to freezing.

'_Neji once told me that the one thing he was truly scared of was when my father lost his temper. I think I understand why now.' _ Hinata thought as Hiashi turned and went out of the clan library.

"Naruto-kun and Sarutobi-sama are going to be so pissed about this." The heiress said out loud.

"What am I going to be pissed about?" Naruto enquired casually.

"Naruto-kun how did you get in here?" Hinata replied with a jump.

"Hey, I know the place well enough after how many times I was in it. And your patrols aren't up to war standards. Honestly, I'm not surprised that Kumo-nin was able to get in. After all I was able to and my body's all out of whack." The blond said shaking his heads.

"Naruto-kun, that's not fair; you still have that jutsu to defeat dojutsus." The blue haired girl said.

"I got tired of Sasuke and Kakashi stealing all my moves, how was I supposed to know it was a perfect defence against the Byakugan?" Naruto said exasperated. "Anyway, what am I going to be pissed about?"

"You remember the Hyuuga purge after I came into power?" The pale-eyed time traveler asked

"Yeah..." The jinchuruki said cautiously.

"I kind of started it early." Hinata said playing with her fingers, like her original 13 year old self did.

"Hinata, what am I going to do with you?" Naruto said. "Well can't be helped I guess, but why?"

"I saw Neji and I just had to release him from his seal. After that, the elders pitched a fit and I was brought before my Father and I said something I shouldn't have said and now he's on the warpath."  
Hinata answered. Naruto absorbed this.

"Alright, Hinata, I agree with you. I would have removed the seal too if I saw Neji but, starting the Hyuuga purge 8 years early? And they say I'm a trouble maker." The future Kage said with a sigh.

"Sorry." The heiress said.

"Nothing for it. We adapt. Sasuke's all right too." The blond shook his head.

The unspoken question from Hinata was 'Does he remember the future?'

"Not much, but he does remember enough that he's on our side." Naruto said.

"That makes things easier." The pale-eyed girl said.

"I hope so. Sasuke's always been one for bloody vengeance. If he remembers what the elders did...." The blond shrugged.

"We'll stop him." Hinata said.

"Yeah we will one way or another." The future Rokudaime said firmly.

"Someone's coming." The indigo haired girl whispered.

"Alright I'm off, meet me at Ichikaru's tomorrow around 5?" Naruto whispered back.

"Sure."

Naruto disappeared just as the door opened. A servant looked around in confusion.

"Hinata-sama was anyone here?" She asked.

"No." Hinata answered.

"You might want to hide Hinata-sama. Hiashi-sama is on the warpath." The girl shivered.

"Thank you Hikari-san." The heiress gave a slight nod.

Things were about to get ugly at the Hyuuga compound.

**Omake(Inspired by DustBunnyQueen)**

"Say Naruto-kun what did you add to the protocols during your tenure?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked his onetime successor.

"Er...nothing important" Naruto rubbed the back of his head.

"Come on I want to know what kind of Hokage you'd be." The old man said.

"Really it's not that impressive" The blond said half heartedly.

"Sure it is, tell me." The Sandaime said.

Naruto looked around and mumbled

"Giant Mutant Space Hamsters"

"What?" Hiruzen blinked for a few seconds.

"Giant Mutant Space Hamsters. You five clowns took all the good ones. And I...may have been high at the time." The whiskered boy said sheepishly.

"That's as stupid as the evil opposite gendered twins plan." The gray haired kage said.

Naruto stayed silent.

"That actually happened?" The Sandaime asked.

If it did well...he owed Homura five bucks.

"No I just think that with henge or a little surgery it might be useful." The future Rokudaime said with a shrug.

"Giant Mutant Space Hamsters" Hiruzen chuckled.

"Shut up" Naruto snapped.

The Sandaime just kept chuckling.


	3. Oh That Timeline

"So, Hiashi-sama, for what reason have you called the council of elders?" Asked one of the elders.

"I have called the council in order to give you a chance to end your lives honourably." Hiashi said without preamble.

"What on earth are you talking about Hiashi-sama? Perhaps you need some more rest." One of the younger elders said.

"Do not patronize me, I have found the orders you wrote for my wife's death." Hiashi said.

"What orders Hiashi-sama?"

"These orders." Hiashi reached into his robes and threw down the scrolls.

"Those are some very impressive forgeries." Sano said after a moment.

Sano the Head Elder was in deep trouble. He knew this instinctively, but his own arrogance would see him continue to bluff.

"Ah, so I suppose everyone knows about the written command seal Sano? It's a shame if that's true, because at the very least it makes you guilty of treason." Hiashi said levelly.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Sano answered.

"Last chance. Commit Seppukku or have me kill you. It makes no difference." The Hyuuga patriarch said.

The room was naturally quite warm. But still the elders shivered.

"You overestimate yourself Hiashi-sama. The council of Elders has guided this clan since the time of Nidaime." The head councillor drew himself up.

"Yes you have, and under that leadership you've done what? Divided us, weakened us, and perhaps doomed us; all for your own power and petty egos." Hiashi retorted.

It was amazing that such passion came through, considering that Hiashi's face didn't move a muscle.

"You owe your life to us." Another elder said.

"I owe my life to my brother--one that you arranged to be killed. I will not stand for your trivial games any longer. Make your choice."

"Hiashi-sama, it is a shame that you snapped under the pressure. Hopefully your daughters will be more...capable." The head councillor said.

It was truly regrettable what was going to happen. For years the Hyuuga had preached of their innate superiority. Alongside this, the elders had preached their superiority within in the clan. There had been a time when those claims were true. The first elders in the Nidaime's time had indeed been A-rank ninjas. However, those days had long since passed. And none of the councillors realized it.

"My brother was a once in a life time genius. I was his equal. Byakugan!" The clan head said.

"Byakugan!" the elder reacted.

Hiashi tore through them. Years of political intrigue and age showed. The councillors were perhaps Chuunin level at best. Hiashi was, like several other clan heads, high Jonin--quite capable of tearing through a full platoon with ease.

Moving with a deadly grace Hiashi killed them. Five minutes ago there had been 31 people in the room. As the last body fell to the ground, Hiashi stood.

"That is why I am the Clan Head." He said to the corpses.

Walking out, he motioned for a few of the guards to clean up the mess.

_**Hokage Tower**_

"Hey old-man Hokage, we've got a problem." Naruto said making his way into Sarutobi's office.

"Naruto, are you ever going to come here just to say hi?" Sarutobi asked. "Never mind, what happened this time?"

"Long story short? We essentially began a massive political destabilization of the village. The Hyuuga purge has occurred."

"What's this Hyuuga purge?" Sarutobi asked.

"In my time, it was a political cleansing of the Hyuuga clan that eliminated, by force, all of the hardliners that had been resisting the attempts to change the clan. It was motivated by the discovery that the elders had arranged the deaths of both Hinata's mother and father. In this time, it's probably the same, only Hiashi isn't dead." Naruto answered.

"....continue. I think I know why it's going to cause problems but I want your input." Hiruzen said after a moment.

"Danzo's been using the Elders of various clans for years to check you. With one Clan Head finally calling bullshit; most of the others will think of doing the same. Combined with the destruction of the Uchiha clan, Danzo's political influence will dwindle to nothing. However, he has a rather formidable private army. What he'll do exactly...." The blond shrugged.

"I knew he had his own private forces, but a full army?" The Sandaime frowned.

He was the only one who was supposed to have a private army damn it.

"They aren't large yet, and frankly they suck without a dedicated commander. But they're efficient and very ruthless. When Danzo tried his coup attempt the first time around we found that they were useless on the defensive or when they had no one to give them orders." Naruto answered.

"Danzo tried a coup?" Sarutobi said with a cool anger.

Naruto gathered himself. Truthfully he hated Danzo as much as Orochimaru. The war loving freak had gutted Konoha in his own mad quest for power. Naruto was sure that if it hadn't happened, then he could have saved Konoha.

"Danzo is...a megalomaniac with delusions of a golden age of war. He intends, by hook or crook, to become a Hokage. We never did track down everything he did." He said at last.

"What did you track down?" The Sandaime asked wearily.

"He was indirectly responsible for destroying the Uchiha clan in order to harvest their eyes for his own use. Provided Orochimaru the funds for his Mokuton rebirth project, caused and prolonged the civil war in Ame. He also set you up to die by Orochimaru's hand and attempted a violent coup attempt after the Akatsuki War was over."

"So he is a treasonous bastard after all. He was a good man once." Hiruzen shook his head.

"I doubt it, but I'll take your word for it Jiji." The former Rokudaime grimaced.

"Tell me what Danzo's army is likely to do if he dies?" The bearded Kage asked.

"Couldn't say, they're programmed to follow their leader and protect their version of Konoha at any cost. Without Danzo, they'd probably default to whoever was the lead ninja at the time." Naruto shrugged.

"You never found out?" The Sandaime said pulling out of his pipe.

"Danzo's last orders were to open the gates for Oto. If he couldn't have the village no one could." The whiskered boy let out a low growl.

Sarutobi lit his pipe and began smoking. The pair sat in companionable silence for several minutes. At last he said.

"I'll take care of Danzo."

The blond nodded.

"Watch your back. Homura and Koharu were in pretty deep last time with Danzo. We never found out when exactly that started."

"I refuse to believe that one of my teammates would betray me like that." Hiruzen stated with force.

"I thought the same thing until Sasuke shoved a Chidori into my chest." The blond pointed out.

Hiruzen grimaced but acknowledged the point.

"Touché, but Homura and Koharu have always had the best interests of the village at heart."

"Maybe, but I still don't trust them. The road to hell is often paved with good intentions." Naruto said.

"I liked you better when you were a brat." The Sandaime said.

"Oi I was not a brat!" The blond shouted indignantly.

"Regardless, you need a place to train in secret don't you? It'd be bit odd to see a Genin tossing around Kage level techniques like candy." Sarutobi said with a sly grin.

"Well yeah I guess so. I've really just got to train myself physically." Naruto said rubbing the back of his neck.

"Your chakra control and system are vastly different from when you died. You'll find that you need to run through all those jutsu again if you want to be sure they work." The Professor said after a moment.

"You have a point. I should practice the ones I can. Well except for those city-buster jutsu. Thos puppies are staying under wraps until I can get out to the country." The former Rokudaime shook his head.

"I was unaware there was a city-buster rank for jutsu." Hiruzen said.

"...Err I made it up. During the wars we ran into fortifications that even our best anti-army jutsu couldn't scratch. So I created a new type of jutsu that trades range for power. It won't take out an army but it'll break through anything, even Susanoo." The blond said sheepishly.

"Rank?" The Sandaime always had time for new jutsu.

"S-rank usually. I doubt anyone who isn't a Kage or Jinchuruki could pull them off. The chakra requirements are huge." Naruto answered.

"So they actually require you to pace yourself?" Hiruzen chuckled.

"A little bit. I'm still saving those puppies until I can leave the village for a time." The former Rokudaime said.

"That will not be happening until we deal with Orochimaru. I made a mistake letting him live once. I don't intend to do it again." The Sandaime's voice was hard.

"You didn't intend to do it last time. But you got double teamed by the Shodaime and Nidaime. That weakened you." The whiskered boy shook his head.

"I can't believe he would desecrate the dead." Hiruzen growled.

He had loved both the Nidaime and the Shodai as adoptive fathers/grandfathers. That someone would use that love against him; it didn't sit well with the aged Hokage.

"Orochimaru was never the most stable. I think he was always a sociopath. He just never showed it until later." Naruto said.

He had never been forced into that situation. The Shiki Fuuin didn't allow the Edo Tensei to draw people back. It had become something of a tradition for the Hokage's to use that jutsu. The Sandaime, Yondaime and Godaime had all ended up using it. The Sandaime on Orochimaru, Yondaime on the Kyuubi, and the Godaime had used it to seal Madara's eyes.

Hiruzen shook his head and said with all of his age bearing down on him:

"No, once he was human and a kind child. But the wars changed him, and not for the better."

"War changes everyone Jiji. But we still make our own choices." The blond pointed out.

"Hmm, now I know how my students felt." Sarutobi said.

All of his students had complained of his tendency to make random philosophical statements.

"I learned a lot from both of them." Naruto gave a sad smile.

There was nothing either of them could say to that. At last the Sandaime asked.

"Do you want the Namikaze training ground?"

"If you would please Jiji." The whiskered boy said with a slight bow.

Hiruzen opened his desk and pulled out a set of keys. He tossed them to Naruto. The boy nodded and disappeared out the window.

'_Great another one that doesn't know how to use a damn door...'_ Sarutobi mentally growled.

_**Dream/Naruto's Apartment**_

Naruto landed on the rock, looking around he saw a desolate landscape. Kabuto stood before him holding Konohamaru. "One more step Naruto-kun and Konohamaru learns why I'm known as The Doctor." Kabuto said.

"What do you want Kabuto?" Naruto said growling.

"Why your sanity, of course." Kabuto answered as the world turned to red. Naruto watched in horror as all the people who had died came back. "You killed us," some said. "It's your fault we're dead," another said. The accusations and screams became louder and louder.

Naruto clapped his hands to his ears trying to block the voices. It was no use as they became louder.

"I'm sorry!" He began to shout.

"Nothing you can say will make it better!" The voices synchronized.

They turned into a black blob. As the blob came down to crush Naruto, he screamed.

Naruto bolted upright. His body was covered in sweat.

"Just a nightmare." Naruto said breathily, looking around his darkened apartment.

"I really need Hinata here. She's the only one that could ever make these damn dreams stop." Naruto spoke to himself. He glanced at the clock. It read 5:00 A.M. '_Guess I could start training, I've got a lot of work to do. I can't believe I was so weak when I was younger. Not to mention I still don't have a plan for taking down Orochimaru at the exams.'_

_**Konoha**_

Tenten still got up early. A year under Gai had enshrined that idea into her. Not as much as Lee or Gai, but she was still up. '_Don't have team training or missions and I don't want to train by myself all day. So what should I do? I suppose I could get to know Naruto and Sasuke better. They're both very different than what I expected. I'll try Naruto first, he seems more open.'_

After several hours, she was having no luck. '_Where the hell is he? And why do the villagers look at me as if I'm crazy for wanting to find him?' _Tenten thought. Iruka had been no help and no one seemed to have seen Naruto since last night at Ichiraku's. She continued her search and eventually ran into her old team-mate, Neji.

"Hi Neji." Tenten said.

"Tenten, I trust you are well?" Neji asked.

"Yeah, just trying to find one of my teammates for training." Tenten answered.

"Not both?" Neji said curiously. Tenten was usually fair and the only reason that she didn't work with Lee more often was because she couldn't keep up. For her to purposely exclude someone meant something.

"Yeah, you know I got stuck with Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki, right?" Neji nodded.

"Well Sasuke's not exactly sociable. I figured I'd have more luck with Naruto. What about you?" The brunette asked.

"Don't ask. That girl is nearly as bad as Lee is about training, except it's all about Sasuke. She spent the whole morning complaining about not being with 'Sasuke-kun'. Gai-sensei is now subjecting her to some speech about youthfulness while Lee trains. I've got the rest of the afternoon off." Neji answered.

"Want to train with me?" Tenten asked, finally deciding to give up on finding Naruto.

"Sorry, Hiashi-sama and Hinata-sama have some business with me at the Hyuuga compound." Neji was, for once, not being sarcastic or disrespectful with the suffix. Tenten picked up on the subtle change.

"Neji, did something happen between you and Hinata?" Tenten asked.

"I am not permitted to speak of it. Suffice to say that it has changed my fate." Neji gave a slight nod and then headed to the Hyuuga compound.

'_Changed his fate? Neji never talks about changing fate. This must have been major. I have got to ask more about it later when he can tell me what happened.' _Tenten shrugged and went to go train by herself.

**Namikaze Training ground**

Naruto just barely dodged a thrown kunai.

"Kabuto." he said without looking.

"You know of me Naruto-kun?" The traitorous medic was impressed.

"I do...you know it's going to a pleasure killing you." The blond growled.

"You overestimate yourself Naruto-kun." Kabuto kept his eerie smile.

"And you underestimate me. Let's dance, snake bitch." Naruto said sliding into a stance.

Naruto ducked under Kabuto's strike. Kabuto grimaced as Naruto stabbed his heart. Pulling the kunai out, Kabuto focused his charka to heal. Cracking his neck, the white haired med-nin grinned.

"Kage Bunshin No Jutsu." Naruto called.

"Well this is interesting." Kabuto said with a raised eyebrow.

Kabuto was an amazing fighter. He proved it as he cut down the horde of clones.

"This is to easy Naruto-kun. A thousand times zero is still zero!" He said.

*THNNK* A kunai was buried into the back of Kabuto's neck. Severing the spinal column and paralyzing him. As Kabuto fell to the ground face first; Naruto spoke.

"That implies I'm a zero. You ninjas always rely too much on your cheating death techniques. You can't regenerate through metal. In about 5 minutes you'll have complete brain death."

Kabuto struggled to do something, anything, but could only blink. '_Is this how it ends?'_ He wondered before unconsciousness took him.

"You know, you were much harder to kill the first time around. I'm almost disappointed."

Naruto watched dispassionately as the last twitches of the body ceased. And then the body caught fire.

"Figures. Still, at least you won't be killing Kono this time around...Fuck, I haven't met Kono yet." With that Naruto left the clearing.

**Academy Training Ground**

Konohamaru was bored. Ebisu-sensei had yet to teach him anything at all. It was all 'protocol' and acting in a befitting manner of the Hokage's honourable grandson.

God, how he hated that title. Konohamaru loved his grandfather and his family. But he didn't want to be just the Hokage's grandson. He wanted to be a proud ninja famous for what he did. Not what his Grandpa or Uncle did.

Konohamaru threw a kunai at the training post.

"Hey kid, you're doing that wrong." A voice called out.

"Who are you?" Konohamaru spun around.

"Name's Naruto what's yours?"

An orange clad Genin was leaning against a tree.

"Konohamaru." The youngest Sarutobi puffed up his chest.

"That's a bit of a mouthful, Kono." The whiskered Genin said.

"You don't know who I am?" Konohamaru blinked.

"A mouthy brat?" Naruto said half serious.

"I'm the grandson of the Hokage." The helmet wearing kid answered.

Had he finally found someone who didn't treat him different because of his family name?

"So?" The blond blinked, nonplussed.

"Don't you want to treat me different?"

"Nah. You grandpa is a good man. One I respect, but you? You're just a brat." Naruto shook his head.

"I am not!" The brat whined.

"Sure you are."

Konohamaru growled and attacked. Naruto lazily parried the blows. Eventually the blond got bored and thumped Konohamaru on the back. The academy student staggered and fell to the ground.

"Not bad." The whiskered Genin said.

'_Not bad? I'll show him!' _Konohamaru said to himself. The boy stood up and charged again. And found himself back on the ground.

"I take it back." The whiskered boy said.

"Grr...:"

"Calm down Kono. I am a ninja you're not."

"I'm going to be the best ninja there ever was!" Konohamaru shouted.

"Really? Better get cracking. Being the best takes a lot of work. Something you haven't put in." Naruto said while helping the boy up.

"Have so." The youngest Sarutobi was confused.

No one except his grandpa had really talked to him this way. He found that he liked it.

"Trust me, I would know if you had. You have passion but no discipline. There's no shortcut to being the best. You have to put in blood, sweat and tears. You're not there yet." The whiskered Genin shook his head.

"And you are?" Konohamaru whined.

"No, but I'm farther along than you are. If you want, I can teach you."

'_I forgot how much of a pain he was when he was younger.' _ Naruto groused to himself.

Konohamaru looked at the ground. He wanted someone to train him true; but only if it was for him and not because of his family.

"Are you teaching because of my grandpa?"

"No. I'd be teaching you because I honestly think you can be a great ninja."

Konohamaru believed him. Grinning he shouted.

"Alright Boss!"

"Come on, Kono, let's train." Naruto said with a smile.

The pair spent the next several hours together.

**Hokage Office**

"You always did have a knack for making bonds. Naruto." Hiruzen grinned as he put away the crystal ball.

"Enough, why are we here?" Danzo scowled.

"Well, Danzo, a little bird told me that the root is still in the leaves. So naturally, I wondered who would be so idiotically stupid as to leave something lying around like that." The Sandaime said.

The old warmonger gave a start and tried to move. As he struggled he could hear his nemesis chuckling.

"Don't bother Danzo. You died three minutes ago; your body is just catching up to it." Hiruzen said.

"Poison..." The crippled man said.

"Indeed. Remember Tsunade may have perfected poisons, but I taught it too. Danzo, I let you live because I honestly thought having an opposing viewpoint was a good thing. Why were you never satisfied?" The Sandaime asked.

"Because you will destroy the Leaf." Danzo managed to get out.

"Perhaps, but not because of your warmongering." Hiruzen said after a moment.

"My ROOT will continue on without me." The other man declared.

"Will it? Tell me, Danzo, doesn't your programming tell them to follow orders? And did you not tell them to protect Konoha? Is that not my job description?" The Sandaime asked.

Danzo's eye widened. The Hokage was completely correct. He had no true successor. Hadn't felt he needed one. And now Hiruzen was getting his army on a silver platter.

"Damn you." The bitter man growled.

"You could have been great, Danzo, but you never let go of that ambition." Hiruzen said with genuine regret.

Danzo collapsed face first on to the desk. Sarutobi called out.

"ANBU it appears that Danzo has suffered a heart attack, for shame."

"What do you want us to do?" The ANBU from outside the room asked.

"Standard field burial. I think that's what he would have wanted." Hiruzen answered.

And that is why you don't fuck with Hiruzen Sarutobi.

**Naruto's Apartment**

"You know, it's considered rude to hide out in someone's apartment like this." Naruto said entering his apartment.

"Shut up. I need to know something." Sasuke stepped out of the shadows.

"That being, what, exactly?" The blond said nonchalantly.

"Did the Elders order the death of my clan?" The dark haired boy demanded.

Naruto's composure disappeared.

"Damn...I had hoped you weren't going to bring that up."

"Did they?" Sasuke demanded.

"It's complicated. The orders I found on record were to kill the head conspirators. Which did include your father and the Uchiha clan council. How those orders got interpreted as 'destroy the whole clan' I don't know. Not for sure at any rate." Naruto said.

"What do you think happened?" The onyx-eyed boy persisted.

"I think first Danzo manipulated the original orders so that Itachi would kill all Uchiha with ninja training. Then Madara Uchiha was asked for help by Itachi. Madara, for his own reasons, wiped out the rest. " The former Rokudaime answered.

"So Sarutobi wasn't involved?" Sasuke asked.

He had trusted Sarutobi more than anyone besides his brother. If that trust had been betrayed too...Sasuke didn't know what he would do.

"No, not as I knew him. And do you really think that Sarutobi would do things by half if he did want you all gone. I checked your files. They didn't want you to become a ninja. Sarutobi pushed it through."

"Yeah, that sounds like him...but I don't forgive Konoha for betraying my clan." The Uchiha heir said.

"As I said, it's complicated. Konoha was founded by the Senju and the Uchiha. But Madara left. In doing so he nearly killed the Shodai. There was always some mistrust because of that." The whiskered boy said.

"Yeah, I know that." Sasuke grimaced.

His father had ranted about it enough for that message to get across.

"The Nidaime, according to his notes, did his best to downplay it; but it was always there. Even with the wars, the Uchiha became more and more restless under Sarutobi. But still it was all behind the scenes. When the Yondaime came to power he began working to reform the clans and the village..." Naruto began.

"And then the Kyuubi attacked." The dark haired boy said in understanding.

"Yes, the Kyuubi attacked. Oddly, there were very few Uchiha causalities. The long simmering mistrust between the higher ups and the Uchiha got kicked up a notch. Both sides kept pushing and eventually the Uchiha plotted to revolt." Naruto continued.

"Then Itachi was ordered to stop it."

"Yes. And the Madara got involved and it spiralled."

"That doesn't make it right."

"Sasuke, you more than anyone should know that ninja rarely care about right or wrong." The blond pointed out.

"Not trying to preach that Konoha is good and light?" Sasuke asked.

"I've seen the files, remember?" The former Rokudaime said with a sigh.

"So what other dirty secrets does Konoha have?"

"No secrets that I'm allowed to talk about, Sasuke. My secrecy oaths are still valid. Although the Nidaime hate's pirates for some reason." The whiskered boy frowned.

"What?" The Uchiha heir was thrown for a loop.

"It's in his journals. He really hates pirates." Naruto shrugged.

"Well not that I disagree; but why?" The onyx-eyed boy asked.

"Didn't say why, I just thought it odd."The blond answered.

The two fell into an uneasy silence.

"After this Orochimaru business, Konoha and I are done." The Uchiha said at last.

"Sasuke...you saw what revenge cost you last time, are you really that committed to it?" Naruto asked.

"They sacrificed my brother. I could understand my family, especially if it was Madara who went overboard. Itachi was just following orders and got treated like shit for it." The dark haired Genin said.

"Sasuke, even if I'm right about Madara no one else knows. For them it looks like Itachi went off the rails and killed all of them. Now I don't know about you, but I'd be leery of keeping a ninja like that on hand." The blond shook his head.

"No. But I still want to talk to Itachi and find out one way or another. If it was Madara, I want my brother back here. Someone needs to restore the clan." The Uchiha Heir said.

"Still have that problem with girls eh?" Naruto said with a grin.

Sasuke, due to some rather traumatic experiences with his fan girls, was gynophobic or afraid of women.

"Shut the hell up." Sasuke growled.

"Hey, I don't judge." The blond said with a smirk.

The two again fell into a silence. This time Naruto broke it.

"Just know, Sasuke, I won't hold back if you leave."

"I won't either. I know you could have killed me when we first fought. But I could have done the same." The avenger said.

"Well we'll just have to hope that it never becomes an issue then." The Jinchuruki gave a dry smile.

Sasuke nodded and decided to move on to another topic.

"So what do we do about TenTen?"

"What about her? We treat her as a valued teammate and train with her." Naruto was nonplussed.

"You and I both know that she's suspicious; she'll try to find out the truth." The dark haired boy said.

"If I can escape Orochimaru's spy network; I'm sure I can keep things away from one girl." The former Rokudaime smirked.

"How did you do that anyway?" The Uchiha heir asked.

"Same way I do anything else. By doing something so crazy that no one else would think of it."

"Well I do think of you when I think of crazy." Sasuke mused.

"Shut up, Pot." The blond retorted.

"Pot? Is that really the best you can come up with?" Sasuke asked dryly.

"Who the hell are you? Sasuke doesn't do humour." The whiskered boy frowned.

"Ever hear the saying 'If I don't laugh I'm going to cry'?" The Uchiha heir asked.

A look of understanding dawned on the other boy's face.

"Yeah...oh...well that's rather odd coming from you."

"Well we both know what happens if I let myself stew." Sasuke said laconically.

"You inexplicably turn evil?" The blond said.

"Yeah, that."

"Well it's good to be on the same side for once." Naruto placed his hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

"Don't touch me." The Uchiha said.

Naruto jerked his hand off.

"Oh, right."

"Anyways, thanks for clearing that up." Sasuke said with a slight bow.

"No problem." Naruto gave his own bow.

Sasuke left the apartment, leaving the whiskered boy alone.

"I really hope I'm right." He said to himself.

**Omake: Tobirama's problems with Pirates**

Tobirama sighed in contentment. It was good to get a vacation. Hashirama had been working him like a dog. Hadn't even had time to get liquored up once in months. However as thanks the Shodai had sent him on a nice easy diplomatic mission to Snow.

The ship itself wasn't much but it did have one redeeming feature. It was carrying liquor for the royal court. As such it was some of the best booze in the world. The white haired Senju prepared a shot.

Tobirama licked his lips in anticipation. This was going to be good---

*Smash* a large shock hit the vessel.

Causing Tobirama to drop the glass; splattering liquor everywhere. Tobirama stared at the mess twitching for a few minutes. Leaving the room he looked for a crew man.

"What happened?" He asked when he found one.

"Pirates sir!" The crewman said.

"Pirates?" The white haired man twitched some more.

"Yes sir" the crew member blinked.

"Pirates are why I just lost my first drink of alcohol in months?" Tobirama growled.

"Y-yes sir" the crew man stammered.

The future Nidaime was releasing a terrifying amount of killing intent.

"I am going to kill them all" he said finally.

To this day no one knows what exactly happened to those pirates. But when Tobirama became the Nidaime his first act was to make a directive against all Pirates.

A/N: Hey everybody no it's not dead and I'm sorry it took so long. Both me and my beta had issues....moving right along. A huge thanks to my beta DustBunnyQueen for her work. I got a note saying that if you've already reviewed the chapter before the rewrite you can't review the new one. Sorry about that.


	4. Yeah We Broke it

Hiruzen sipped his tea. His teammates, Homura and Koharu, sat patiently in front of him. He dearly wished for his pipe, but his former teammates knew well that a pipe meant he was working. And he didn't want to tip the off yet. So tea would have to do.

"This is a good blend from Tea Country. Are you sure you don't want any?"

"I have to decline, thank you." Homura said

"I as well...Danzo's death shook us all." Koharu said.

Without missing a beat the Hokage said, "Yes, I could imagine that...given your close relationships."

Homura and Koharu both sat up straight. In a low tone Koharu ventured, "What are you talking about?"

The old Kage took a long sip of his tea. When he was done he said, "Danzo expired due to a heart attack. After that, I met his ROOT division. Now, seeing that I ordered it disbanded over two decades ago, I was surprised."

He took another sip.

"So I asked them 'how did you escape detection?' Can you guess how they answered?"

Homura blanched, his brown face becoming pale. He knew exactly how they would answer. It wasn't that ROOT couldn't lie, just that they were programmed not to do so; provided you had a sufficiently high authority. The Hokage certainly had the authority, especially given that Danzo - from a family with no history of heart disease - suddenly died.

Homura looked at the cup. No, Sarutobi had been tipped off and had acted against Danzo. Now Hiruzen was giving them the chance to go quietly, family honour and respect still intact. He would not disgrace his family. No he, Homura Mitokado, would not disgrace over eighty years of blood, sweat and tears sacrificed for Konoha. His father's spirit and his family would never forgive him for that.

Homura scooted backwards and, bowing low, he said, "Very well then. In exchange for my family's protection I will go down quietly. Retire from the job permanently. I've wanted to spend more time with my grandson."

The Sandaime raised an eyebrow. "Would you consent to a mind wipe by the Yamanaka's?"

Homura sat up. With no hesitation he answered, "Yes."

Homura had expected this. He simply knew too much to be allowed to run around with all those secrets in his head. Neither Koharu nor he had ever taken the secrecy seals. Hiruzen had, which was why he was allowed to run around after his first retirement.

That Sarutobi had volunteered to take those seals was a non-issue.

Sarutobi nodded and turned to his other teammate. "And what of you, Koharu?"

Inside Koharu's mind things went a little differently than Homura. Homura had weighed his options, deciding that his family name was more important that Danzo`s schemes. Koharu, however, had no family.

Her own thought process boiled down to one simple thought. Hiruzen had killed the one man capable of saving Konoha. He'd doomed them all.

"You senile old fool!" she spat. "Danzo was only doing what was necessary to keep us strong!"

Homura blinked and edged away from her. The Sandaime gave a level stare. Slowly, in cold tones, he said, "You supported a man working to overthrow this office. No matter your reasons, that is treason."

Koharu stood up and began to pace almost shouting, "What is treason is your weakness. We have compromised time and again under your leadership. We are the strongest. Yet we backed down like children from Kumo. Iwa regains strength and Suna is slowly dying. How long until your sacrifices lead to Konoha's death? How long until the blood and sweat we shed becomes meaningless? I will not back down from doing what the village needs."

Hiruzen frowned. "We were nowhere near strong enough to fight another war so soon after the Kyuubi attack. Iwa is abiding by the treaty obligations and Suna is an ally. But we can't interfere in a sovereign power. Do you want us to go to war Koharu?"

A manic gleam entered Koharu's eye. "Konoha is the strongest. And we must prove our strength continually."

Homura stared at his teammate cautiously. Something was seriously wrong with his old friend.

"Koharu you were the one to argue for peace with Iwa. We both wanted to wipe them out and be done with it. It was you and Minato-kun who pointed out we couldn't."

Koharu stood up and began pacing. "I was wrong, Danzo was right. Only total annihilation of our foes can keep us safe."

The Sandaime frowned and stared at what was left of his tea.

"At the cost of our souls, Koharu? Sensei never wanted us to become an empire. He wanted peace. Not by the sword, but by the diplomacy."

Koharu tensed up and pulled a kunai.

"If you cannot see the truth then I will destroy you for the good of all."

Koharu threw the kunai. Without thinking, Hiruzen reached up to grab the kunai. Instincts threw it back.

In the small room, Koharu had no chance to dodge. The kunai buried it's blade in her heart.  
Koharu looked at him.

"At least I won't have to see the village burn."

Hiruzen looked at his hand. Only he would know how close that came to hitting him. Luck, it appeared, was on his side.

Homura felt his reserve shatter. Long years of diplomacy and lying through his teeth allowed him to hide it. He would have to be very careful to avoid meeting the same fate. Even long years of tense diplomacy and high stakes lies barely prepared him to keep it hidden, but he managed.

"Hokage-sama... I had no idea that Koharu would do that. I don't know why she would do that. I don't know why she would not surrender with me."

Sarutobi struggled to hold in the pain he felt. Whatever Koharu had become, she still had been a good friend. And he had killed her. He blinked back tears. He could mourn later. Right now he had to be strong.

"Homura, my men outside will escort you to Ibiki."

Homura nodded and turned to leave, carefully avoiding Koharu. As if he didn't want to think about it.  
Stopping at the door Homura sent one last parting shot.

"Hiruzen, we were ninja. And in the name of that have done horrible things. I think this was our karma coming back to us...be careful, for you have done as much as we have."

Sarutobi nodded. Homura left the room and a sense of peace filled him. Homura felt that his job was done. Hiruzen had remembered his roots and how to be hard. Remembered what the cost of being soft was. As such Homura felt he was no longer needed.

He heard Hiruzen mutter, "Karma will do what Karma does."  
_'That it does Hiruzen; that it does.'_ Homura thought to himself.

After the room was empty, Hiruzen uttered a silent prayer. Carefully, he picked up Koharu's body. He would take care of her burial himself. He owed her that much. With a silent shunshin the Sandaime left the room.

**Hyuuga Compound**

Hiashi looked at his fellow clan leaders. They were a motley looking lot. In the corner, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio sat quietly. Tsume was loudly talking to Shibi. There were a few other minor clans._'When did we become so few?'_ Hiashi wondered. In his youth there had been over two dozen clans. He remembered the first time he had called a meeting of the clan council. Even the two founding clans, the Uchiha and Senju, were no longer present.

"Friends." He began.

"We're not your friends, Hiashi." One clan leader called.

Without stopping, or showing his irritation, Hiashi continued.  
"Comrades, I have asked you here to discuss several things. But first and foremost is the existence of our elder councils."

Tsume gave a short bark.  
"The Inuzuka have no such nonsense."

The Hyuuga patriarch allowed himself a small smile.

"That was one of the few things I envied you, Tsume-san."

"What about them?" Hojo asked.

Hojo was the leader of what little was left of the once strong Gekko Clan. A sickly old man, Hojo was the longest known survivor of the deadly plague that had been unleashed on the Gekko during the last war.

"I have recently been forced to disband my own council of elders. Yet thinking back, how many times did they stop us from doing what we believed was right?" The grim faced Hyuuga asked.

Without preamble Shibi Aburame said, "What did they stop us from doing? You refer to the Uzumaki child."

"Yes...we all knew that he wasn't the Kyuubi. But instead of reaching out and helping him we were all turned away by the elders." Hiashi said with a nod.

"Hokage-sama forbade us having an active role in his life." Hojo said reasonably.

The old Hyuuga nodded.  
"Yes but there were dozens of little things that could have been done. Combine with the Akimichi, the Gekko clan owns ninety percent of the commercial land in Konoha. Would have insisting fair and equitable treatment for all have been so hard?"

An even sicker look than normal fell on Hojo's face.  
"No."

Hiashi turned on to Shikaku.  
"What of you, Nara? You control much of the medicine made in this city. Yet you allow your products to be oversold to just one boy; why?"

"Troublesome." The old deer herder muttered.

The elder Aburame spoke slowly.  
"I also must admit my clan's guilt in this. The Aburame have long controlled what textile industry Konoha has. But we allowed our buyers to discriminate who they sold to."

Shikaku frowned; almost as if speaking to himself he began.  
"There is something odd here...why would all of the Elders lean on us so hard to look the other way? I can understand in your case, Hiashi-san, or Hojo san's. Both your clans lost many tothe Kyuubi. But why mine, why the Aburame? Or the Akimichi? It doesn't make sense."

"A conspiracy that hasn't been detected in a ninja village?" The female Inuzuka scoffed.

"All coups start somewhere." Chouza pointed out.

They nodded. Asuma filling in on the Sarutobi seat asked the obvious question.  
"Yes...but why?"

"What do the elders all have in common?" Shikaku answered rhetorically.

Frowning, Inoichi spoke.  
"Come to think of it; don't they all have ties to Danzo, Koharu and Homura?"

"I think we must investigate. Why? Because, Inoichi-san is correct." Shibi responded.

Tsume gave a feral grin. "My clan is clean."

"Maybe, Tsume but a quick look wouldn't hurt. You've been complaining that your daughter needs to take a more active interest in the clan anyway." Hiashi said while raising one elegant eyebrow.

"Are you implying something?" The Inuzuka growled.

"Not at all." Hiashi answered. The tone gave lie to his words.

"I oughtta..."

"Both of you calm down; deal with your feelings for each other later." Shikaku said bluntly.

Both clan leaders turned and glared at him. "We don't have anything like that."

"Right. Hiashi you said you dealt with your Elders why?" Hojo intervened.

Slowly the grim faced Hyuuga answered.  
"They...were involved in my wife's death."

All nodded.  
"I see. I will look into my own clan. I suggest the rest of you do so as well." Shikaku said.

"If need be I will lend my own aid. Such as it is." Hiashi responded.

"You've done something besides off your elders didn't you?" Tsume accused.

"I am considering options." The Hyuuga said noncommittally.

"Cagey as always, Hiashi?" The Inuzuka matriarch snarked.

"Tsume-san, Please." Shibi insisted.

Hojo asked the next question.  
"Was there anything else that you wished to discuss Hiashi-san?"

"Just general matters." The Hyuuga patriarch answered.

Asuma lit a cigarette and said, "Then let's get this shit over with."

Hiashi glared at Asuma before nodding. They talked long into the night.

**Training Grounds**  
TenTen threw a kunai at a tree, frowning. It wasn't that she missed. As always, her aim was perfect. It was her teammates.  
Both Naruto and Sasuke confused the hell out of her for different reasons. TenTen did not like being kept out of the loop. Even though, as a ninja, she knew it would occasionally happen. But she couldn't think why it would happen this time. It wasn't like they were secretly time travellers or anything like that, right?

No, that was just stupid. Time Travel couldn't happen. TenTen wasn't as fatalistic as her old teammate Neji, but still believe that certain things were unchangeable. The past being one of them.

So then, how to explain Naruto and Sasuke? Hurtling another kunai, TenTen began a mental checklist.  
Naruto was supposed to be a loud immature idiot. Hell, he was a loud immature idiot last week! But somehow he had changed so much in a single week. Well a complete personality transplant was more like it.

The Naruto she met wasn't loud, immature or an idiot. Rather, he seemed to hold a wealth of experiences, both good and bad, giving her teammate a quiet sort of maturity that she wasn't sure what to make of.

Which brought TenTen's mind to her other teammate; Sasuke Uchiha: Rookie of his year, tragic survivor of the Uchiha massacre, obsessed with vengeance and an all around pretty boy.  
Although admittedly Sasuke still possessed all those traits. There were more she could add that didn't add up. Sasuke seemed to be even more traumatized than expected.  
There was also the way that he always deferred to Naruto. Suspicious, considering which one was better on the books.

TenTen threw another Kunai. All of these things bothered her, but what bothered her most was the fact that Naruto and Sasuke Despite being, at best, rivals apparently knew each other well enough and worked together long enough to function like a well oiled machine when fighting. That wasn't something you could explain away by personality growth.  
That level of cooperation implied that they had fought together, or against each other, long enough to know all the moves the other had. Something they shouldn't have had time to do. All of these things suggested that they were hiding something.

Throwing her final kunai, the brown haired girl made a decision. Whatever her teammates were hiding...she was going to find out.  
First thing to do was to talk to both of them.

**Naruto's Apartment**

Naruto was doing a bit of cleaning. Kakashi had met them early and told them to go play. Well not literally, but it was the intent. He still had time to kill until his date with Hinata-chan.  
A loud knocking came from the door. On instinct Naruto readied a kunai.  
_'Odd, I wasn't expecting any visitors.'_ The blond thought to himself.  
"Who's there?"

"It's me, TenTen."

Naruto opened the door.  
"What's up, Panda girl?"

"My name isn't Panda girl!"  
"Well you don't really look like any other animals...maybe a bear? Nah, not big enough. So really you're stuck with Panda."

"Just call me TenTen, fox boy!"

"That was original. Did you need something?" the blond asked.

"Well could you put that kunai away? It's making me nervous." she scowled.

"Oh, sorry about that; force of habit." Naruto said sheepishly.

"It's a force of habit to answer the door with a kunai?" the brown eyed girl asked.

"...yes."

"Actually, that's part of what I wanted to talk about. May I come in?"

"Sure. Sorry about the mess. And don't sit on the couch. I haven't gotten the booby-trap working right yet." the blue eyed boy said.

TenTen blinked

"Wait, what? You booby trapped your couch?"

"Well, technically it's a dead man's switch but the principle is the same."

"Why?" she asked in disbelief.

The blue eyed boy looked at her strangely. By now trapping had become second nature to the former Rokudaime. So slowly he said.

"...I'm afraid I don't understand the question."

"Why would you trap your house?"

Naruto's mind went through a brief process of deciding how to explain.  
_'Hmmm now do I lie and make a ridiculously contrived and clichéd angsty back story or not? _  
_'On the one hand I really shouldn't lie to my teammate. On the other hand: telling her I've actually become a functional paranoid wouldn't work either. So cliché back story it is.'_

Sitting down Naruto began to spin his tale.  
"For whatever reason, people in Konoha have always hated me. Even when I was little and hadn't done anything, they hated me. Up until I was about 4 years old I thought my name was Monster; because that's what everyone at the orphanage called me. The staff encouraged the other orphans to pick on me. I was able to deal with that. But when they started beating me, Hokage-jiji intervened.

"I was about six then. Out of options, Jiji put me into this apartment hoping that it would make things better. It didn't; but he did try. He made sure someone taught me to read and write. He personally taught me how to make food and do math.

"Despite all that, things were still pretty crappy. Now that I was on my own, people would get ideas to come and punish the monster. And by 'punish' I mean 'beat me within an inch of my life'. When they couldn't find me, they trashed the place.

"October was always the worst for that; no idea why. That first October gave me these scars on my face.  
"Anyway, the upshot of all this is I learned to hide who I was behind a cheerful, happy-go-lucky idiot persona. It also made me start doing my best to hurt the bastards when they came to get me. Hence, the kunai and traps."

"Wait, seriously?" TenTen asked in disbelief.

"Yep." The blond said.

"I don't believe you." The weapon mistress said instantly. To be truthful, she was rather hurt that her teammate would tell such a brazen lie to her. Did he really think she was that stupid?

"Well damn, can't help you then." Naruto said standing back up.

"There is no way in hell the Hokage would allow that." The brown-eyed girl said.

"Jiji isn't all powerful; as much as I wish he was." The whiskered ninja said easily.

TenTen began to get agitated.  
"Leaving aside the ludicrous nature of the Hokage not being able to execute a couple of people who are committing crimes, that doesn't explain why you aren't dead. If they hate you enough to do that, then they hate you enough to put a kunai in your throat and be done with it."

"Who's to say they haven't tried?" blue eyes danced with amusement.

The bun haired girl's eloquent answer was, "You are not some sort of manga hero with super healing powers!"

"Actually; I kind of am." Naruto chuckled.

"Prove it!"

With a shrug the boy pulled out a kunai and cut the top of his finger, just enough to bleed. In a few seconds, the cut healed. Naruto chose not to mention that he was using an old chakra trick to speed up the healing. Doing so cost a fair bit of chakra, especially to do it that fast. But having a bijuu in your gut compensates for such thing.

TenTen blinked.  
"How in the hell?"

The blond boy just grinned.  
"Like I said, I have super healing powers."

"You do not!" The brown-eyed girl retorted.

"Then explain how I healed so fast." The whiskered boy asked reasonably.

"I don't know but it wasn't because of super healing powers!" TenTen said angrily.

"Look, Panda-girl, what do you want?" The former Rokudaime asked.

"I want to know why you're not an idiot. Why you keep lying to me. And stop calling me Panda-girl!" The weapons mistress said irately.

Naruto raised one eyebrow.  
"On the basis of my right against self recrimination, I refuse to answer."

This only served to infuriate TenTen further.  
"What the hell are you talking about? Konoha doesn't have anything like that. And I'm not a cop interrogating you about a crime either."

The blond hung his head.  
"Panda girl, I can't tell you what you want to know. I'm sorry, but what I've told you is all I can give."

"Bullshit." The brown-eyed girl spat.

Naruto raised his head and very quietly said, "TenTen I can't order you to drop this. But I will say you should. There are a lot of things that should stay buried. This is one of them. Now get the hell out of my apartment."

"Fine."  
Tenten stormed out of the apartment, absent-mindedly throwing a shuriken at the couch.

Naruto looked at the couch. "Did she set off the...oh son of a—"  
A large boom rocked the apartment.

"I probably deserved that; but damn woman!" The blond said, coughing up smoke.

Checking the clock and seeing it was time to go he shrugged.  
"Kage Bunshin."  
Two clones appeared and began cleaning. With that, the original left the room.

**Hokage Tower**

Iruka walked uneasily into the Sandaime's office. The Academy teachers each rotated who went to the tower each summer. This year it was his turn to be 'the Hokage's bitch' as one of the other teachers had said.

"Hello Iruka-kun. It's your turn this year?" The Sandaime had an easy smile.

Bowing the teacher replied. "Yes, Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen grinned.  
"Good, maybe we can prank the Genin's with Tora again."

Straightening up Iruka rolled his eyes.  
"...Hokage-sama with all due respect, that cat is going to get killed one of these days."

The old Kage nodded.  
"We can only hope."

"Sir?" the scarred Chuunin blinked.

"Never mind. Before you settle in, Iruka, I have a job for you." Sarutobi said with a chuckle.

Iruka settled into a parade rest.  
"What do you need Hokage-sama?"

"One of our...associates says that there will be a trade of information in Nagashino. This information has something to do with Konoha. I wish for you to intercept it." Hiruzen said.

"Isn't this a job for ANBU?" The ponytailed Chuunin asked.

The Sandaime shook his head.  
"This one is a little too delicate to hand over to the rank and file. Dolphin or Inu on the other hand...they should have no problems. However, Inu is on a long term mission with regards to the Genin teams."

Iruka finished the thought. "Leaving Dolphin. But Dolphin burned his mask a long time ago."

"Not that long ago, only four years." Sarutobi pointed out.

"Long enough." The Chuunin said touchily.

Hiruzen's worn face seemed to acquire another line.

Gently he said. "Iruka-kun I am sorry. But you will do this mission."

"Understood, sir." Iruka responded stiffly formal.

"Here is the briefing scroll." The Sandaime handed over a scroll.  
Iruka nodded and left.

Hiruzen lit his pipe. He was getting too old for this he mused. A sense of foreboding settled on him with that thought. Shaking it off, the old Hokage went back to work.

**Uchiha Compound**  
Sasuke sat in the old Uchiha Shrine meditating. Unbidden, images flashed before his mind.  
_~*~_  
_Standing in front of a village, looking down at a little girl who couldn't have been older than four. His hand snaking out and snapping her neck. The crying had been annoying._

_A clan compound in Kumo with an old man screaming, "Why?"_  
_I answer._  
_"Why, you old fool? Because I can." A foot crushing the old man's face. _

_Looking at the Hokage monument and giggling. I cackle and say, "Boom" watching as the old stone was destroyed by the explosions._  
_"Please, my lord...mercy!" A peasant begs._  
_I give a sick sort of smile. _  
_"No...bring me your first born child. I'm feeling peckish. A nice young heart would do well."_

"_Please, Sasuke, not my child; please!" Ino begging_  
_I scream at Orochimaru to stop but he says, "Foolish girls, Sasuke is gone. Look at your son, he's all grown up."_  
_A hideous monstrosity of human flesh and demonic chakra walks up._  
_"Kaa-san." The abomination says._

_Ino screams._

"_You're a monster!" Sakura screams at my body._  
_I answer...or is it Orochimaru? Harder to tell the difference now._  
_"A monster? No, I am a god! And you would do well to remember that fact."_  
_"No...I will stop you here and now!"_  
_A fist flies at me. With the barest twist of my head, I avoid it. My own fist, covered in lighting, slams into her gut._  
_As I watch the life slide out of Sakura's eyes, I scream. _  
_"Such potential you had little girl. But not nearly enough to do anything to me." Orochimaru says. _

Sasuke blinked, opening his eyes and holding his head. Guilt overwhelmed him. Countless voices called to him  
_"Murderer..."_  
_"Monster!"_  
_"Demon!"_  
_"Animal!"_

"You should have died with the rest of your clan!"

Holding his head in both hands, he forced the voices back.  
"I am Sasuke Uchiha of clan Uchiha. I will make things right." He vows.

Standing up, the black-eyed boy sighed. The images were getting more and more intense as his memory sorted itself out.  
Still, having gotten his daily guilt attack probably meant that he would sleep tonight. The Uchiha heir knew he should talk to someone about this. But years of being independent (Or out of his mind thanks to his body being possessed), left Sasuke with little idea as to whom. Naruto was probably the best person.

But saying "I feel so guilty for killing you best friend and first girlfriend. I don't know what to do man." Probably wouldn't go over well. Sasuke frowned as he walked over to the clan training grounds.

Nothing could ever really atone for what he did; even if Orochimaru was the one controlling his body. He, Sasuke Uchiha, should have done the honourable thing and killed himself when he had the chance. Because he had known Orochimaru was trying to possess his body. He had always known. Hell, Naruto had pounded that into him during the retrieval mission. But no, Sasuke you had to be a pigheaded idiot. He thought to himself

Even when Itachi had supposedly defeated Orochimaru for all time, Sasuke had never really felt that the twisted Snake Sannin was gone. Merely...sleeping wasn't the right word, but close enough.

Stretching out his limbs, the Uchiha began his warm-ups. Throughout this, his mind continued to wander. Despite the fact that all that stuff had happened−in one reality anyway− Sasuke admitted that he was none too clear on how temporal mechanics actually worked. It hadn't happened in this reality. So the question was simple.  
Was the future already set? Or could it still be changed like Naruto believed. Actually, come to think of it, how did either of them get their memories? The dark haired boy mentally smacked himself for not asking that question earlier.

Someone had to give them the memories. But nothing guaranteed that someone was on his side, Sasuke thought. Okay, so now who did he know that had the ability to transfer memories?  
The obvious answer was the Yamanaka. But, even assuming that for some reason Ino was the one with all the future memories, it didn't really make sense to give them to him.

Sasuke began a kata. '_No.'_ he thought. '_If you were going to give memories to people, you would give them to everyone but the villain in order to keep him weak. So that if he again showed signs of sending everything to hell, you could smack him down. Preferably with some new jutsu no one else had ever heard before.' _The distraction of his thoughts caused Sasuke to misstep and mess up the Kata. Shaking his head the Uchiha began to focus.

Unbidden, the voices began to return causing the dark eyed boy to mess up the kata again.  
Letting out a small curse he began again.

Only to be interrupted by his female teammate this time around.  
"Sasuke, can I talk to you for a moment."

Internally, the Uchiha groaned. Outwardly Sasuke nodded.  
TenTen began to rant.

Sasuke listened for a bit. After figuring out that TenTen had indeed become suspicious about Naruto and himself, he stopped.  
_'Won't be able to figure things out my ass!'_ He thought.  
_'Now, what lie will get her off my case?'_ The Uchiha wondered.

A/N: Holy crap it's been a long time...Ummm is anyone still there? Anyways for those of you still paying attention I apologize for the delay. Life kind of got crazy. And I a huge writers block. A huge thanks to Psalm of Fire for helping me with that by the way. Another huge thanks for DustBunnyQueen getting this back to me so quickly.

Anyways read and if you've got the time review. gman391 out.


	5. Fixing it?

TenTen finished her rant and stared at Sasuke.

"Well?" She demanded.

The Uchiha blinked. She was done talking? Damn it and he still hadn't figured out a plausible lie.

"Well what?" He replied.

"Aren't you going to answer?" TenTen asked.

Sasuke decided to screw it. If he couldn't think of a lie he'd tell the truth. Albeit in such a way that she'd never believe him.

With his voice dripping with sarcasm he began. "How could I answer TenTen-san? Oh yes, we have a vast conspiracy. All of it dedicated to keeping you specifically locked out of the loop. Buddha knows that you are the most important person in Konoha.

"Despite that, I'm going to break that conspiracy. Mostly because I don't want to listen to you rant anymore. Seriously, that's the only reason I'm telling you this.

"Here's the Truth: In the future I betray Konoha and go to Orochimaru in order to get power enough to kill my psychotic brother. Of course, it turns out my entire clan were traitors to Konoha in the first place but never mind that.

"So I do that, nearly getting most of the rookie teams killed in the process. Long story short, Orochimaru possesses my body and then we play 'destroy all civilization' for the next decade or so. Until finally Naruto and Hinata attack me in a last attempt to kill me.

"Except we all become time travelers in order to prevent the whole shebang from happening. Happy?"

"No need to be sarcastic." The bun-haired girl huffed.

"Yes, there was." Sasuke said.

"Bastard." She retorted.

Acting as if greatly offended, the Uchiha responded. "I'll have you know my parents were married. I'll grant that it wasn't a happy marriage, but they were married."

A tic formed on TenTen's forehead.

"That's not what I meant."

"Of course it wasn't. Now if you're done being a paranoid kuinoichi can you kindly get the hell off my property?" Sasuke said, making a great show of being dismissive.

"Fine!" she stalked off.

"Well that could have gone better." The onyx-eyed boy muttered.

Sasuke shrugged and began another kata. It was Naruto's problem now.

X-X-X-X-X-X

Hinata sat in front of her father. The tea room was small and luxurious. The room was too small for Hinata's comfort to be honest. Her mind involuntary flashed back to seeing Hanabi dead in this same room.

An unnamed Hyuuga served some tea. After he had left Hiashi spoke.

"Daughter...we have much to discuss."

Suppressing the urge to stutter Hinata asked, "About what father?"

Hiashi set his tea down.

"You and what you know. I found those documents you mentioned. There was no way for you to access them. I also never taught you how to break the seal."

"We are ninja...we always find a way." Hinata replied with false bravado.

The Hyuuga patriarch merely raised an eyebrow.

"That steel in you is another thing worrying me. My daughter...did not have that strength about her. So who are you?"

Hinata gulped. It had been too long since she had seen any of her family. Because of that, she hadn't acted in character. This was the consequence. Still, there might be one way out.

"I swear upon my eyes that I am Hinata Hyuuga, daughter of Hiashi Hyuuga and Hikari Hyuuga. Genin of Konoha and heir apparent to the Hyuuga clan." She said formally.

For the Hyuuga, the clan—and by extension the Byakugan— were all important. To swear on one's eyes implied that you would lose them if you were lying. A Hyuuga who lost his eyes was generally exiled from the clan or killed outright.

Carefully keeping the surprise from his voice Hiashi asked, "Truly you would swear upon your eyes?"

The pale eyed girl nodded.

"I would father. I am not the Hinata you know, true, but I am still your daughter."

"You are my daughter in body. You look too much like your mother to deny that. But in spirit? That I am not sure of." The Hyuuga patriarch said.

Hinata barely resisted flinching. She had always known that her father was disappointed in her. Up to the exams she couldn't remember a kind word from him at all. It still hurt though to hear your father imply that he didn't believe you could be strong at all.

"Father..." She said quietly.

"If you were my daughter then you know it's useless to lie to me." Hiashi said, his face grim.

The indigo haired girl nodded and mastered herself.

"I know, but there are some secrets that must be kept."

"True." The older man admitted.

"The Hokage knows the full truth and has trusted me. I would ask, father, you do the same." Hinata said almost begging.

Hiashi hid his wince. Perhaps this was his daughter? She had never been one to hold enough pride as a Hyuuga.

"I will speak to the Hokage. If he supports you then I will as well."

"Thank you father that is all I can ask." The heiress said.

The two finished their tea in silence.

X-X-X-X-X-X

Kakashi stood beside the memorial stone. He looked down at his visibly agitated student. Of course, she had a reason to be annoyed Kakashi mused.

"I know they're lying to me and for the life of me I can't figure out why!" TenTen scowled.

The one eyed Jonin reflected for a moment that she had a point. But he was trying to calm her down so instead he said, "Calm down TenTen. I agree that Sasuke and Naruto are different from their files. On the other hand, it's a good difference. Do you really want to deal with a hyperactive idiot who passed by luck? Or a revenge-obsessed, traumatized loner?"

The bun haired girl's scowl disappeared.

"Well no, but they're hiding something." She said.

"I agree." Kakashi replied.

TenTen blinked nonplussed.

"And that doesn't worry you?"

The masked Jonin shook his head.

"No, it does. But freaking out about it isn't going to help." He said evenly.

"So what do you want me to do then Kakashi-sensei?" The weapon user asked.

"Calm down. Look for clues, and don't be so hostile to them." Kakashi answered.

"Hai." TenTen said half-heartedly.

Kakashi gave an eye smile

"Don't worry, TenTen-chan, I'll be doing my own investigation."

"Understood." She said perking up.

The silver haired Jonin said, "Now, was there anything else?"

"No, Sensei." TenTen said.

She walked off in a much better mood than she had arrived. _Good kid, a little high strung though_ Kakashi thought. Still, she did have a point. With that Kakashi began his quest to find out what the heck was going on with his two students.

X-X-X-X-X-X

Naruto was sitting on his couch. In front of him was a rather complicated seal design scroll.

"But if I do that the feedback loop will overload it. What if I used the...no that won't work." Naruto muttered to himself, making more marks on the scroll.

He heard a loud knock from the door. Putting the scroll away, he got up and opened it. Standing outside was Hinata.

Naruto took one look at her before gently pulling her inside, and giving her a hug. Hinata didn't resist and hugged back. They stood like that for a few seconds before releasing each other.

"Hime...what happened?" He asked.

"I had a talk with my father." Hinata answered.

"Oh." The blond said.

"He doesn't trust me." The heiress admitted.

Naruto nodded and asked, "You want to sit down?"

"Yes." The indigo haired girl said.

The two sat on the couch. Naruto reached out and held her hand. He didn't push or anything just showed he was there. Finally Hinata let go of his hand and spoke.

"My father doesn't trust me. More importantly, doesn't believe in my strength."

Naruto frowned and said, "Hinata, your strength was hidden until the exams first time around."

"I know. But it hurts that my father didn't believe in me at all." The heiress sighed.

"Sure he does. Hiashi just doesn't know how to show it." The blonde insisted.

Hinata shook her head.

"No he doesn't, he didn't believe in me at all until I nearly got myself killed last time."

The former Rokudaime's voice dropped into a fierce growl.

"That's not going to happen this time."

Hinata looked down at the ground.

"What if it does Naruto-kun? What if we fail?"

Making sure to stare directly in Hinata's eyes Naruto said, "We won't. Not as long as we have each other. Orochimaru won't win, I promise."

A small smile appeared on the Hyuuga girls' face. In all the time she had known him; her Naruto never broke a promise.

"And we never go back on our word." She said.

Mentally Hinata vowed that no matter what she wouldn't fail again.

"Right." Naruto cracked a smile.

They sat, leaning on each other's shoulders, for quite some time. Neither was really into big expressions of their love anymore. Simply being together was enough.

X-X-X-X-X-X

Kakashi suppressed his aggravation, barely. He was standing in front of the Hokage looking for answers. Unfortunately, he wasn't getting any.

"What do you mean nothing's wrong? Naruto and Sasuke both have undergone complete personality transplants. They're different people."

Unruffled The Sandaime said, "I know that, Hatake. I also know why. Suffice to say there isn't anything we can do about it."

"What happened to them?" Kakashi asked.

The old Kage raised one eyebrow before saying, "That is not something you are cleared to know."

The masked Jonin was confused. He had one of the highest security clearances in Konoha, he decided to point that out.

"I'm an ex-ANBU captain. The only people with higher clearance are you, Hokage-sama, and the Elder Council."

"Yes, I know that. I also know that your clearance is still only for S-Ranks, nothing higher. Now are you going to drop this or am I going to have to make it an order Kakashi?" Sandaime asked.

Regretfully Kakashi shook his head.

"No sir. May I speak freely?"

The Sandaime shrugged.

"You may."

The Copy-Cat nin began. "With all due respect I deserve to know what's happening on my team. I don't deserve to have things done behind my back. You've already arbitrarily changed the teams with no real explanation. How much more am I expected to take?"

"You may have a point. None-the-less you are not cleared. This information is on a need-to-know basis only. You do not fall in that category. Do I make myself clear?" The Sandaime nodded.

"Yes sir." Kakashi said.

The Hokage gave him a look as if to ask 'anything else?' Kakashi shook his head and left. _Damn it I got out of ANBU to get away from the mind games _He thought.

As he wandered over to the memorial stone, Kakashi mentally summed up what he knew.

1. Naruto and Sasuke were different from their psych profiles. Naruto more so than Sasuke, but the differences were enough to be noticeable

2. They both somehow knew of him and their other teammate TenTen.

3. Neither of them should have known. He had made it a point to stay in the background when it came to the Academy. TenTen was in a completely different class group than they had been.

4. Ergo Naruto and Sasuke were not the ones from the Academy. Something had changed. Or someone was giving them information.

5. Both were loners; either by choice or circumstance. Therefore they shouldn't have the connections to know.

6. Despite that, the pair did know and more besides.

7. Sasuke had been hospitalized the day of the exam. The doctor didn't say why though.

8. In both cases they had changed on the Genin exam day.

_What options did that leave?_ Kakashi wondered. As he looked at the stone they assembled themselves.

1. Naruto and Sasuke have both been replaced by poor imposters.

2. Naruto and Sasuke had been lying to the psych profilers.

3. Naruto and Sasuke had both been changed by some outside force.

Of the three Kakashi found the second one most likely. Still, something in his gut said that the third one was right. His mask hid a frown. One way or another he needed to get more information. Kakashi had told the Hokage that he would stop asking questions.

But if something had happened to the last links to the past he had in Konoha, Kakashi knew he would never forgive himself if he didn't do anything about it.

With a final glance at the Stone, he decided to pay a visit to his most changed student. Naruto Uzumaki.

X-X-X-X-X-X

Sarutobi looked up from some paperwork, mentally swearing at the interruption.

"Hokage-sama." Hiashi said evenly.

With the skill borne of long practice, the Sandaime continued working while looking at Hiashi.

"Hiashi-san, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"My daughter and I have disagreements. She says that you would vouch for her." Hiashi said.

Sarutobi nodded.

"I would...if you told me what I was vouching for."

The Hyuuga patriarch kept a grip on his irritation. Why did Sarutobi always insist on these games?

"My daughter has drastically changed since her graduation." He said levelly.

Hiruzen gave a grandfatherly smile.

"One would think that her becoming a true Kuinoichi would be something to encourage."

"True, but only if I think she is my daughter." Hiashi said.

With a sigh Sarutobi said, "So now we get to the crux of the matter. You don't believe that your daughter could so dramatically change and improve in a few short days."

The Hyuuga patriarch ignored the mild rebuke.

"No, my daughter for all her...qualities has never been a true prodigy."

"Prodigy; a term we use too easily I think. No, young Hinata-chan isn't a prodigy. But that in no way detracts from what she is: a strong kunoichi of Konohagakure and one with my complete trust and faith." The Sandaime said.

"She does?" Hiashi said incredulously.

Sarutobi gave a glare.

"That she does. Now if there is anything else Hiashi-san?"

"No, Hokage-sama." The Hyuuga patriarch answered.

Giving the bare minimum formality required, Hiashi bowed and left.

X-X-X-X-X-X

A loud knock came from the door. Naruto and Hinata both sat up ramrod straight.

"Were you expecting anyone?" Hinata asked.

"No..." Naruto frowned.

"Traps?" The heiress asked.

"Mostly around the window and the inside entrance; I didn't want to take out some dumb kid by mistake." The blond answered.

Hinata nodded.

"Byakugan."

A quick scan and Hinata released her doujutsu.

"Who?" Naruto whispered.

"Kakashi-sensei." The blue haired girl answered.

"Now what could he want?" The blond blinked confused.

"At a guess? I'm not the only one who's caused suspicion." Hinata shrugged.

"Damn it I don't have anyone...the psych profiles." Naruto said slowly comprehending.

"Indeed." The pale eyed girl said.

More loud knocking came from the door.

"Naruto, I know you're in there." Kakashi shouted.

"Can you get out?" The blond asked.

"Yes. Careful Naruto-kun." Hinata said.

"Aren't I always?" The former Rokudaime grinned.

Hinata raised one eyebrow.

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

"Hey!" Naruto fake whined.

With a faint smile, the Hyuuga ghosted out of the apartment. Naruto shook his head in good natured irritation. After putting the scroll away, he opened the door.

Kakashi looked down at his student. He knew that Naruto had had someone in there.

"Naruto who just left?" He asked.

The blond plastered on a smile.

"I don't know what you're talking about Kakashi-sensei."

"You shouldn't lie to your teacher you know." Kakashi fake glared.

The whiskered ninja just shrugged.

"Probably. So what's up Kakashi-sensei?"

"I just wanted to get a feel for my team. Can we talk?" The masked man asked.

"Sure." The blonde said.

They both sat down on the couch. Kakashi absently noted that it was fairly warm. Still, he had to focus. Naruto was just a Genin...albeit a sneaky one. So getting information out of him should be child's play.

"Naruto I want to ask about you and Sasuke. You had a rivalry with him in the academy. Are you sure you can work together?" Kakashi said.

The whiskered Genin gave a wry little smirk.

"Sasuke's a good guy. A little confused, but not someone I can't work with."

The silver haired Jonin blinked. This kid is definitely not the same one from the reports.

"I see. Because I've read a report saying that you threatened to neuter him."

"It was just friendly banter." Naruto waved it off.

Kakashi quirked his visible eyebrow.

"Your friendly banter revolves around threatening each other?"

"Well sure, doesn't everyone's?" The blonde asked nonplussed.

"No." The Jonin said.

Naruto frowned.

"You people are weird."

Kakashi gave a strange look at Naruto and said, "That's perhaps the most surreal thing I've heard in a while."

"Isn't being insane part of the Jonin requirements?" The blond asked.

The one eyed Jonin was somewhat confused.

"No, what gave you that idea?"

"Just watching your fellow Jonin."

Kakashi considered his friend Gai, and decided that Naruto was right.

"Point taken. But we're getting off topic."

"We have a topic?" Naruto asked surprised.

"Yes...stop doing that." Kakashi said annoyed.

"Doing what?" The blonde said trying to look innocent.

"Being random just to distract me." The masked man said.

Naruto put on a fake pout.

"Kakashi-sensei I'm hurt that you would think that of me."

The one-eyed Jonin decided to just not respond to that.

"Right...anyways I like to know my team. You said a bit when we introduced yourself the other day. But I want to know more."

Naruto looked at him for awhile. Before asking, "Hmm...do you like fish?"

Kakashi blinked at the non-sequitur.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Just asking, I think you look like a pretty crappy fisherman." The former Rokudaime said.

The masked Jonin decided to ignore the implied slight.

"As it happens, I do like fish. Stop changing the subject."

Naruto disregarded the order.

"Fish is alright. Ramen is better though. The problem with fish is that they don't always bite. When they do you know you've got a stupid one." He said quietly.

"A stupid one?" Kakashi asked despite himself.

"Well, a smart fish wouldn't fall for the bait right? Thing is that it's not always obvious if a fish is smart or stupid just by looking." The blonde answered.

The legendary Copy-cat Ninja blinked. Had his student told him to back off? That he knew that Kakashi was fishing for information? This was supposed to be a milk run. Instead you had a kid who said a lot without actually saying anything at all.

"I see." Kakashi finally said.

Naruto gave a grin.

"Yeah...so how about some ramen? I think I've got some real stuff buried in the kitchen."

Kakashi decided to write this information exercise off as a loss.

"Er...no thanks. I've got to see Sasuke and TenTen too. Meet at the Tower tomorrow around eight."

"Sure thing Kakashi-sensei." The blond said.

The masked Jonin made his exit. Naruto was left alone. He slumped on the couch with a huge sigh of relief.

_That was too close. That ramen sounds really good now. I Should warn Sasuke though_. Naruto thought to himself. The blonde shrugged and sent a Kage Bunshin off toward the Uchiha district.

X-X-X-X-X-X

Hiashi sat in the dojo watching Neji, his nephew, sparring with Hanabi. Hanabi was being soundly defeated. But there wasn't the barely concealed hate Neji usually had.

Indeed; since Hinata had freed him, Neji had a nearly complete personality change. He now vowed to protect both Hinata and Hanabi no matter what the cost.

The Hyuuga patriarch liked the change. Despite all the problems it caused, Hinata freeing her cousin had led the branch house to want freedom. _Not that they didn't already._ Hiashi mused.

Still; with the Hyuuga purge now complete, Hiashi had an unprecedented amount of power over the clan. Although in theory the remains of the main house and the branch could oppose him. Hiashi couldn't see them actually doing so.

As Hanabi scored a point, the Hyuuga patriarch's turned to his other daughter. Hinata was vouched for by the Hokage. And he couldn't ask for anything more. Yet, despite this, he still worried. Hinata was different. Gone was his kind gentle daughter. In Hinata's place was someone who was more like a veteran of the wars than a rookie Genin.

Hiashi frowned. He would need to talk to Hinata more. His thoughts were interrupted with Hanabi's collapse.

"We are done. Hanabi, you fell too quickly I want you to practice your katas twenty times before bed."

"Hai father." Hanabi said.

She's still too open. Hiashi thought. He could see her frustration.

"You may leave. Neji, I would speak with you."

Hanabi gave a formal bow and left. Neji kneeled before Hiashi waiting.

"Yes Hiashi-sama?" The prodigy asked.

Looking up slowly, Hiashi said, "We stand at a crossroads. Although my daughter did something risky, she did free you."

"I owe Hinata-sama a debt I can never repay." Neji said simply.

"True. But you can begin to work it off." The patriarch nodded.

"Hiashi-sama?" The younger Hyuuga was confused.

"My daughter is changed. But the Hokage vouches for her and thus I will trust her. However, I look to the future. In many ways you are something of a problem." Hiashi said.

"A problem Hiashi-sama?" Neji tensed.

Problems in the Hyuuga tended to disappear.

The Clan leader nodded.

"By both blood and skill, you are as much in the line of succession as Hinata is; now that you are unsealed, anyway."

"I will follow Hinata-sama." Neji said firmly, relaxing slightly.

Hiashi allowed a ghost of a smile to appear on his face.

"Good. But it might not always be your choice. Your House will want you to lead, and you have the strength to seize it."

The Hyuuga prodigy nodded. He seemed to think for a few moments before saying.

"Hiashi-sama, I want my house free without bloodshed. Hinata-sama is the only one I can see capable of that."

"Hmm you may be right. But I would think that freeing your house now would be better."

Neji stiffened. Was his uncle really suggesting what he thought he was?

"Hiashi-sama?" He asked tentatively.

"I intend to unite the houses. I also intend to have all of us sealed. No one must ever learn our secrets."

"Hiashi-sama!"

"Indeed, Neji-kun. It will take time. The seals themselves are complicated. But we will achieve unity."

The prodigy's mind kicked into over drive. Why would his uncle tell him this? To tell a family member the good news? No, Hiashi-sama was never one for that sort of sentiment. To further gain his loyalty? Neji thought it could be that, but doubted it. No, the answer was both simpler and far less benign. Hiashi-sama did not think that the Branch house would trust him. His uncle would be right.

_So, Hiashi-sama wants me to speak in his place._ Neji thought.

"You're telling me so that I can tell the other Branch Members."

Hiashi suppressed his smirk. He loved working with prodigies. They always got it so easily.

"Perhaps I am. The last thing this clan need is a civil war."

Neji agreed. Still, did he want to help his uncle? It would help Hinata-sama. That thought settled things for the young prodigy. For the woman who freed him, he would do anything to help her.

"I understand, Hiashi-sama." Neji said.

Hiashi nodded.

"Excellent. If there is anything else?"

The Prodigy slightly shook his head.

"No, my team has been changed but it is nothing to worry about."

"You may leave." The patriarch said.

Neji nodded and, after a formal bow, left.

X-X-X-X-X-X

Hinata listened from the rooftop and smiled. The clan was coming together; something that had taken nearly a decade in her old timeline. Naruto was right, this time she would succeed and save everyone she could.

Hinata swore it on her eyes...no she swore it on her life.

A/N: Sorry everybody for the delay. Things have been kind of hectic. Now I am trying National Novel Writing Month in November. So the good news assuming it succeeds I'll have a ready made complete story to post in December. The bad news is that odds are against me updating at all in November. My beta is really busy and I'll be occupied. That said I will try to punch out another chapter before the end of October but no promises.

So a huge thanks to DustBunnyQueen for betaing and a thank you readers for picking up this story.


	6. No, Owning Up? Yes

Sasuke sat in his kitchen quietly eating a stir fry from yesterday. He idly wished he had some tomatoes dealing with TenTen had put him in a foul mood.

"Yo Sasuke" Naruto shouted

Sasuke suppressed the urge to murder his friend. Dammit that ear was going to be deaf for a weak.

"Naruto?" he got out.

The blonde shook his head.

"Nah Boss was too lazy to come."

"Naruto...always abusing that jutsu" the Uchiha said.

The clone shrugged.

"You have to admit it is awesome."

The black haired boy frowned. Kage Bunshin was damn useful so he couldn't deny it.

"Fine...what did you need?" he asked.

"Not much Boss just wanted to give you a heads up that Kakashi-sensei is probably going to talk to you." The clone said.

Completely deadpan Sasuke said.

"Oh joy. Did Naruto say what Kakashi-sensei was going to talk about?"

"Kakashi-sensei apparently wants to know what the hell happened to us." The blond answered.

"Dammit" the Uchiha responded.

"Anyways now that I've got that out of the way...later!" the clone said.

Smoke filled the area beside Sasuke.

"I really hate that technique." He muttered.

Having lost his appetite the onyx-eyed boy cleaned up. As he did so he thought about the situation.

So Naruto's letting me deal with Kakashi-sensei eh? I'm not really in the mood. On the other hand at least he gave me a heads up this time.

Still that does leave the question of what to do when Kakashi-sensei shows up Sasuke mused. The Uchiha knew he had never been one for subtleties. He preferred to settle things in combat with no patience for the give or take of conversation.

Well sarcasm and just messing with TenTen worked Sasuke thought. Maybe it would work twice? Deciding that he would indeed use this chance to screw with his sensei's head Sasuke began to plan.

X-X-X-X-X-X

Kakashi came into the Uchiha compound quietly. He was frustrated Naruto and the Sandaime gave him nothing. Kakashi's last bet for getting information easily was his last student Sasuke.

Sasuke had changed less than his teammate Naruto. The psych profile for the Uchiha had been...interesting to say the least. It had very strongly recommended that Sasuke be removed from the ninja program until he could finish proper treatment

However the Uchiha had adamantly refused the treatment. The Shinobi program had in turn refused to wait any longer than necessary to get an Uchiha back in active service. Thus Sasuke Uchiha a self destructive, emotionally broken boy had been granted genin status.

They had done the same with Kakashi himself and it had turned out alright. The silver haired ninja buried his irritation. Those damn psych ninjas never really knew what they were doing.

These thoughts passed through Kakashi's head as he entered into the small house Sasuke typically used

"Sasuke-kun where are you?" Kakashi shouted.

From behind a voice answered.

"Right here Kakashi-sensei"

The silver haired jonin refused to show surprise instead he said.

"You shouldn't sneak up on people like that."

"Aren't you a ninja?" Sasuke asked.

"Right" Kakashi admitted.

The two stared at each other awkwardly for a few moments. Sasuke gestured for them to sit down. They did so and Sasuke asked.

"What do you need Kakashi-sensei"

"Just wanted to talk and see how you were doing" the one eyed man said.

"I'm fine." The Uchiha answered.

"Really?" Kakashi asked sceptical

Sasuke shrugged and said.

"Well fine as an emotionally traumatized individual could be. I mean I still have my obsessive need to kill my brother and an intense inability to form emotional attachments to people. But yeah I'm cool. Tomato?"

Sasuke pulled out two tomatoes from seemingly nowhere and offered one.

"Err no thanks...why are you eating tomatoes anyway?" Kakashi said nonplussed.

"They taste good." The black haired boy said.

Kakashi decided to ignore that instead saying.

"No seriously Sasuke if you need to talk about anything..."

"What do we have to talk about?" Sasuke asked.

"A couple of things. Like your medical files you were in the hospital a few days ago." The one eyed jonin said.

"Yeah I just got knocked around a bit, no problems." The Uchiha said easily.

"That's the thing Sasuke I think there is a problem" Kakashi responded.

Despite everything Sasuke managed to keep himself from being totally sarcastic.

"Really...and what oh most honourable sensei gave you that impression"

"Stop being a smartass" the silver haired man snapped.

"What and start crying?" the onyx-eyed boy said with a fake pout.

Sasuke knew that he shouldn't do this he was acting like...Naruto for Buddha's sake. But it was damned fun.

"Huh?" Kakashi said even more perplexed.

The Uchiha shrugged again.

"It's a new thing my therapist recommended. Find humour in everything so that you feel better"

"And it works?" the silver haired man asked.

The onyx eyed boy made a great show of thinking.

"Hmmm I'm not bawling or cutting my wrists so I guess so." He said.

"You cut your wrists?" Kakashi genuinely worried.

Only for Sasuke to ruin it.

"Well not intentionally."

"How do you do that unintentionally?" the one eyed jonin asked.

"Playing with a kunai." The loyal Uchiha said with a shrug.

Kakashi decided then and there not to question it any farther. It would only make things more confusing.

"Alright then." He said evenly

"So anything else?" Sasuke asked.

The former ANBU remembered something.

"Sasuke you don't even go to therapists." He said.

The dark haired boy nodded and said.

"I don't go to ninja therapists. And can you really blame me?"

Kakashi thought about that for a moment before deciding that really he couldn't.

"Guess not but still you've had nearly a complete personality change. I want to know why?" he asked.

"I started listening to metal and realized that being emo wasn't helping anyone" Sasuke said.

"Metal?" The copy ninja said disbelieving.

"It's a form of music and it's awesome" the Uchiha responded.

"You like music?" Kakashi frowned.

That wasn't anywhere in his profiles.

"Of course I do everyone has a hobby mine's listening to music." Sasuke agreed.

"That's not in your profile." The silver haired man said.

"Profiles are Ninja code for lying right?" the dark haired boy asked.

The Copy ninja suppressed the irritation to rub his head.

"No they are supposed to be completely legitimate information on the ninja in question."

"But we're ninja we'd lie about the sky being blue if we thought we could get away with it." Sasuke said.

"Would not" Kakashi retorted.

The loyal Uchiha shook his head.

"I'm not getting into this argument. Ninjas lie. I lied on my profile like Tsunade loses money."

"Why?" Kakashi demanded.

Sasuke said with a disbelieving look.

"Because if I told them the truth they'd say I was too crazy to be a ninja."

Kakashi found his patience had run dry. He wanted an easy job where he got to read Icha-Icha and torture genin with evil D-rank missions. Instead Kakashi had to deal with a mystery.

"Look Sasuke I will find out what you and Naruto are hiding so spill" he ordered

"We're not hiding anything." Sasuke responded.

The Copy-nin glared at his student willing him to break. When the Uchiha held his ground Kakashi nodded.

"Good night Sasuke" he said before leaving.

Sasuke finished his tomato. This could be problematic he mused.

X-X-X-X-X-X

Hiruzen frowned at the kuinoichi before him. Kurenai Yuuhi, genjutsu specialist; relatively weak compared to other jonin outside of her own field but competent. Surrogate big sister/mother for one Hinata Hyuuga.

It was that last bit that was causing him problems. Hinata Hyuuga was now a battle hardened kuinoichi from the future. Not a shy withdrawn girl with a lot of potential but little skill. Of course Kurenai had noticed.

"I will repeat myself only once. Hinata Hyuuga is not an issue" the Hokage stated.

"But Hokage-sama" Kurenai protested.

"Hinata Hyuuga has changed drastically in the last few days. I am well aware of this and why. It is not a problem" the Sandaime said calmly.

The crimson eyed jonin barely held back a growl.

"With all due respect sir it is a problem. It's throwing off the entire team dynamic."

"Yuuhi they are you're team deal with it." The Hokage ordered

"Yes sir" Kurenai said.

With great formality the genjutsu mistress bowed. It was all terribly polite it was also all calculated to show the Hokage what she really thought. Kurenai left the office leaving Hiruzen alone with his thoughts.

Three times in two days he had to cover for his erstwhile successor/wife. Hiruzen shook his head. He knew why Naruto wanted to play this close to the vest. Orochimaru had spies everywhere. Not to mention once other people knew the truth it became much harder to predict what would happen.

The Sandaime pulled out his pipe and started smoking. Despite all of that it had become unworkable to maintain the tight secrecy they had been. At least that's what Hiruzen thought. And the protocols were clear. The reigning Hokage of whatever time the travellers where in was in charge.

The reining Hokage took a long drag on his pipe. Tonight he would talk to them Hiruzen decided.

X-X-X-X-X-X

Three people stood in the Hokage's office. They had been ushered here without much fanfare or explanation.

"So the Hokage called you here too?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah" Naruto answered.

Sasuke just nodded his head.

"Wonder why..." the blond thought out loud.

The Sandaime appeared in a swirl

"Because Naruto-kun we cannot maintain secrecy much longer." He said.

"I know Kakashi-sensei and TenTen have been curious but that's no-" the whiskered boy was cut off.

The Sandaime said.

"It is not just them. Hiashi Hyuuga, Kurenai Yuuhi. Even now I'm hearing questions from Tsume Inuzuka and Shibi Aburame on behalf of their children."

"Dammit what do we do?" Naruto swore.

"We tell the truth" Hiruzen answered.

The former Rokudaime retorted angrily.

"They'll never believe it. Besides how much do you want to bet one of them will try to off Sasuke?"

The Sandaime gave his potential successor a pointed look.

"If I could protect you from assassination and death for twelve years Naruto I can protect Sasuke." He said.

The blond flinched from the rebuke.

"Gomen"

"Hokage-sama he does bring up a good point. It's one I've had myself. In your position I'd be dead. The Sharingan isn't worth all of Konoha." Sasuke said after a moment.

"True it isn't but I won't allow someone to be condemned for something they may do. Our fates are never set Sasuke-kun. We can change them if we have the will." Hiruzen stated.

There was absolutely no doubt in Sasuke's mind that that the Sandaime meant every word he said.

"Thank you Hokage-sama." the Uchiha said respectfully.

"Still we have to have some way to prove our knowledge." The blond said frowned.

The black haired genin snorted. He said.

"Naruto you can at a whim use the Rasengan something that only two other people know. Hinata here has mastery of advanced Hyuuga techniques. Me I've got a fully evolved Sharingan if not the Mangekyo. More importantly I still have the Chidori."

"We can summon massive animals and the elements themselves to fight for us. In the face of that time travel is not so far-fetched." Hinata mused.

Naruto continued frowning at last he said.

"I don't like this. I don't like it at all but...if you're all in agreement I won't say anything."

"Naruto-kun why are you so against this?" the Hyuuga heiress asked.

"It's probably nothing more than my own paranoia. But that Snake bastard has spies everywhere. The more people know the more likely it is that things will slip out." The blonde answered.

Sasuke nodded before saying.

"True on the other hand Orochimaru is largely committed to his own plan. I've been inside his head. The man is arrogant he'll try to modify the plan to make it work. Just walking away and admitting the Leaf had beaten him again would be too much for his ego."

"I agree with Sasuke. Orochimaru is cautious and accounts for all the variables. But once he has a plan he doesn't diverge from it." Hiruzen said.

Naruto's frowned deepened.

"Huh he was never like that when we fought the bastard always tried to make it on his terms."

"Naruto you were the third man he genuinely feared. The other being Hokage-sama and my brother. Even if he never admitted it he knew that you would kill him if he gave you the slightest edge. He became fluid and adaptable in a response to you. Otherwise he'd never have changed." Sasuke said.

The former Rokudaime looked at his team mate with surprise. Orochimaru had always respected his power but Naruto had never gotten the feeling that the snake feared him. It was an uplifting experience to say the least.

"Are you sure Sasuke?" the blond asked quietly.

"I am" the Uchiha answered quickly.

"That's good enough for me then. Alright I'm in" Naruto said.

The Sandaime smiled glad that things had worked out.

"Good now is there anyone in particular you want to tell. We are already informing your teams." He said.

"My father needs to know." Hinata said.

Naruto gave a look at his wife. That bastard really hurt her he thought. The blond shoved aside the desire to introduce a fist to Hiashi's face. Instead Naruto focused on who he wanted to know the truth.

"If we can I say bring in Jiraiya. As a personal request I'd sing bring in Iruka-sensei. He already knows some things." Naruto said.

Hiruzen simply shook his head.

"Unfortunately Iruka-kun is out on a mission at the moment. And Jiraiya is off being Jiraiya."

"Can we wait until they get back?" the blond asked.

"We could but I want to head this off early. The more they keep digging the more other people are also going to start asking questions." The Sandaime answered.

"Fine but we bring him in when they get back alright?" the former Rokudaime insisted.

The old Kage thought about it before agreeing.

"I have no real problems with that Naruto-kun."

"Okay Hokage-sama when do you want to do this?" Sasuke asked.

"Tonight." The current Hokage answered.

Naruto nodded and walked over to an unadorned wall.

"I'll start setting up security seals."

The Sandaime watched in fascination as Naruto pulled out an ink set from nowhere and began to draw. Symbols, figures and lines began to appear on the wall. The blond appeared as if in a trance.

Straining his senses he can hear Naruto faintly muttering about balancing the equation and keeping the chakra flow neutral.

"He's impressive isn't he?" the indigo haired girl said smiling.

Hiruzen returned the smile.

"Yes he is Hinata-chan, it's been a long time since I saw a true seal master in action."

Hinata nodded and said.

"Naruto-kun went to the ruins of Uzushiogakure. I don't know what he found there but when he came back he knew more about seals and how to use them then anyone since Jiraiya-sama's death."

"I see. I dabble in seals myself but I admit this is something completely beyond me." The Sandaime responded.

"Eight Barriers: Senses Seal" Naruto stated and the wall glowed.

"What did you do?" the old Kage asked.

"Activated the first part of the seal as long as it's active no one really spy on us." The blond explained.

"First part?" Sasuke asked.

"The Eight Barriers Seal is a series of seals three in all. Senses, Strength, Spirit. In turn they prevent people from spying on a room, entering the room, thinking about the room."

"That's an interesting seal...I don't recall it in any scrolls though," Hiruzen thought out loud.

"I kind of invented it." Naruto admitted.

The elder Sarutobi felt immense pride for his adopted grandson. Seal Masters were rare, Seal Inventors were worth their weight in gold.

"Hmm the last Seal Inventor was your father." He said.

"Yeah well it's a family tradition." The former Rokudaime said sheepish

"True" Hiruzen said.

Quietly Sasuke asked.

"Naruto did you ever try breaking the Curse Seal? I know you never did but did you try."

Naruto's face became deeply furrowed.

"Yeah I have but it's not just a seal. The seal part I can break easily. But doing that also breaks the storage seals; which results in a massive backlash for the sealed person. They're lucky not to die outright. Even if they don't they can almost never use chakra again."

"So you couldn't break the seal. It seems Orochimaru is more gifted then we thought." The old Kage said.

"I was working on it off and on before the Long Night but things just got so chaotic that I couldn't finish." Naruto said with a shrug.

"Long Night?" Sasuke asked.

"It's what we called the time after Orochimaru emerged as the supreme power." Hinata explained.

"Oh...he always called it 'The Glorious Ascension of the God-King. Humble the bastard was not." The Uchiha responded.

"Indeed." Hiruzen responded.

"Hokage-sama the individuals you requested are here." A chuunin called from outside the door.

"You knew who we would ask?" The blonde asked.

The Sandaime shook his head.

"Not with any certainty but I guessed."

"Damn shrewd guess Old Man" Naruto said with a smile.

"I am the Hokage for a reason Naruto." Hiruzen said amused.

Six people entered the room. The remainder of Teams Seven and Eight along with Hiashi.

"Hokage-sama why we are here." The Hyuuga Patriarch asked.

"All of you have noticed a change in certain individuals. We have for our own reasons attempted to keep that change a secret. But said individuals screwed up." Sarutobi answered.

"Thanks Old Man" the whiskered genin said.

"You're welcome Naruto-kun" Hiruzen said guileless

"So what is this change?" Kurenai asked. Ignoring the byplay.

"Hinata you're the cause of this you explain." Sasuke said.

The pale eyed time traveller let out a deep breath. She began/\,

"I suppose I should start at the beginning. According to history the Rikudo Sennin had two sons. What history does not record is that he also had a daughter. It is from this daughter that the Byakugan and Hyuuga descended.

"After the Rikudo Sennin's death he became a sort of...I guess Kami would be the best word. Although he referred to himself as a cosmic maintenance man."

"You met the Rikudo Sennin?" Hiashi asked Incredulous

"Father please don't interrupt." Hinata rebuked her father. "Now this is where things become somewhat difficult to believe. The three of us: Naruto-kun, Sasuke and I are not from this time. We are from a future. One that hopefully never comes to pass."

"You're from the future. Are you really buying this Hokage-sama" Kakashi gave a sceptical look at the trio.

"Shall we?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto if you would summon some target dummies." Hinata asked.

The blond nodded and threw three kunai. The kunai let out some smoke before changing into normal training dummies.

"Rasengan" Naruto said.

"Chidori"

"Hakke Sanbyakurokujūichi Shiki" Hinata finished.

The three Jonin in the room were impressed. Those were all powerful techniques.

"Those techniques...how did you learn them?" Kurenai asked in disbelief.

"We're from the future." Naruto answered with a shrug.

"That...actually explains a lot." Kakashi mused out loud

Kurenai turned to her fellow Jonin-sensei. Incredulous she asked.

"You believe them Kakashi?"

"There are two people in the world who should know that technique; me and Jiraiya-sama. I never taught it to Naruto. And Jiraiya hasn't been in the village in ten years. I've never taught the Chidori either. But it is written down; still if you've eliminated us both..." Kakashi said.

"Then who taught him?" Kurenai finished.

"Exactly" the one eyed ninja gave an eye smile.

Hiashi kept his face perfectly still. Still those that knew him could tell he was thinking deeply. Finally the Hyuuga Patriarch said

"I have to admit it fits with what I know and answers my questions. It's almost too pat. Hokage-sama why do you trust them?"

The Sandaime answered.

"Naruto was in that timeline the Rokudaime. My fellow Hokages and I have developed plans for some of the most outlandish scenarios. Fortuitously time travel was one of them. We had a plan so that a future Hokage could help an agent prove who he was if said agent went back in time. Naruto knew that plan and knew it."

"I understand. Very well. Hinata you will explain why you came back." Hiashi demanded.

"Hey ease off Hiashi" Naruto growled.

Hinata reached out to Naruto's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Calm down Naruto-kun. Very well father. I did not intentionally come back. I died. Instead of going to heaven the Rikudo-sennin offered to give me another chance. I took it. He also allowed me to give a similar gift to three people. I obviously choose my husband.

"And Sasuke?" TenTen asked.

"Sasuke was an accident. Sorry Sasuke-san I mean no offense" the indigo haired girl said.

"None taken. I wouldn't have chosen me either." Sasuke gave a wry smirk.

"So you have one left." Hiashi said.

"Yes" Hinata agreed.

"Use it on me" the Hyuuga Patriarch ordered.

"I can't" The Heiress said.

"Why not?" the older Hyuuga demanded.

"For one thing you died nearly fifteen years before I did. For another your mind would shatter from the stress. The Rikudo Sennin told me that the only ones that he was certain could handle the stress of memories were jinchuruki's" Hinata explained.

"Jinchur what?" Kiba said confused.

The indigo-haired girls suppressed the urge to wince. She had forgotten that Law along with the others. Hurriedly Hinata apologized.

"Sorry Hokage-sama."

"I'll forgive you this one time Hinata-san see that it doesn't happen again. Naruto explain." Hiruzen said without much warmth.

The blond sighed.

"Sorry but we have one more bombshell to drop on you well just the genin I guess. Yondaime never killed the Kyuubi. You just can't kill a sentient mass of chakra no matter how much power you have. Instead he sealed the Kyuubi inside me.

"And you're called Jinchuruki because?" Shino asked.

"I'm not the only one with a tailed beast sealed in him. There are at least seven others that I know about. We're called human sacrifices because we are used to control the beasts"

The three other genin made words of understanding.

"Fascinating as that is back to the time travel thing. Why did you die Hinata-chan?" Kakashi asked.

"Orochimaru killed me." She answered.

Hiashi looked genuinely surprised.

"What? How?" he demanded.

"I'll tell them" Sasuke interjected

"You sure Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

The Uchiha nodded.

"If we're going to tell them we have to tell them everything."

"Okay" the other two nodded.

Sasuke calmed himself. Taking a deep breath he began.

"In the original timeline I was on a team with Sakura Haruno and Naruto Uzumaki. My Jonin sensei was Kakashi Hatake. We barely passed the bell test more by luck than anything.

"Still we continued. We had adventures, Naruto proved why he was going to be Hokage and we became...friends. The Kakashi-sensei entered us in the Chuunin exams. Things started going down hill from there.

"In the second stage of the Chuunin exam I met and fought Orochimaru. He defeated me and gave me a Curse Seal. This seal nearly killed me but I survived. I made my way to the final test.

"In the final test I fought Gaara no Subaku Suna's Jinchuruki. With the Chidori I injured him severely. But then all hell broke loose. Suna and Orochimaru's own hidden village attacked Konoha.

"We won but the Sandaime was killed. Eventually Naruto somehow brought Tsunade back to Konoha as the Godaime. I also got mind raped by my brother...again.

"Needles to say this combined with Curse Seal cause me some issues. I defected to Orochimaru believing that it would give me the strength to kill Itachi.

"Naruto tried to stop me but failed. More because he wasn't willing to kill me than any other reason. On the other hand I couldn't bring myself to finish it either. The next three years I served Orochimaru willingly.

"Right when Orochimaru was at his weakest and when I had learned all that I could I killed Orochimaru. I took a few of Orochimaru's experiments with me and tracked down my brother.

"I fought Itachi. During the fight I found out that Orochimaru had somehow transferred his soul to my seal. Itachi sealed Orochimaru away. We resumed fighting. Itachi died before I could finish him off.

"After that I met a man known as Uchiha Madara...We'll explain that later. Madara...told me some things and convinced me to attack Konoha."

"It was a failure. Madara was destroyed and I barely escaped with my life. I hid out for two years. During this time Orochimaru somehow escaped his prison. He attempt to take control I fought him off.

"Because of my arrogance and pride I attempted to seal Orochimaru away myself. It didn't work he took control of my body. From then on I was a prisoner in my body. And I watched."

"Watched as Orochimaru rallied his scattered forces. Watched as he lead them on a campaign of bloody destruction. Watched as the minor nations fell one by one. Soon the Five Powers fell...all except Iwa.

"Naruto and the Godaime Tsuchikage managed to hold back Orochimaru's forces for several years. But in the end Iwa fell. Orochimaru ruled supreme.

"Years passed and Naruto and Hinata tried several times to rally a resistance to me but failed each time. On their last attempt Orochimaru using my body killed them both." Sasuke finished

The six absorbed that information for several minutes.

Hiashi was the first to speak.

"We should kill him"

In a cold voice the Sandaime responded.

"No I will not allow you to murder someone for what they may do. Now that you know the truth I trust that I don't have to state that it is S-Rank. Speaking of it will result in my extreme displeasure."

"Yes Hokage-sama" the group chorused.

The old Kage nodded apparently mollified.

"Now it's late you may all leave." He said.

The group gave formal bows and left.

X-X-X-X-X-X

Iruka mentally thanked all the gods that he had had Rikimaru as his jonin instructor. Rikimaru had hated chakra and felt that ninja's relied on it to much he had taught a young Iruka and his team-mates how to move quickly and silently without chakra and how to erase one's chakra presence.

It was that skill that allowed Iruka to come as close to Uchiha traitor as he did. Evidently Itachi had been the one involved in the sale of Konoha secrets.

Itachi had been meditating deeply not unaware of the world but relying on his Chakra to sense enemies rather than his normal senses it was a trap most ninja fell into. Trusting their abilities to sense peoples chakra rather than their other senses.

Iruka was behind Itachi and mentally steeled himself for death the scarred man didn't delude himself into thinking that he was capable of taking Itachi.

The former ANBU knew he only had one shot at this. Itachi hadn't sensed the Chuunin and so when the kunai pierced his neck and severed his spine in two his thought was _'What the hell...it was suppose to be my brother who killed me not a no-name shinobi. Dammit' _With that the traitor to Konoha and Murderer of the Uchiha passed from this world to the next.

Iruka worked quickly cutting off Itachi's head and sealing it in a scroll. Iruka then used Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu to bury the body.

It was only because Hiruzen had specifically asked for Dolphin that Iruka had even attempted to assassinate Itachi. Any other time the chuunin would have been just as happy to leave it alone. The scarred man knew his duty. And now that he had fulfilled his duty, Iruka was happy to run home as fast as he could.

A/N: Hurray it's not dead sorry about the delay. I had to get a new beta and things got crazy during December. On that note a big thank you to Bookworm702 for the beta job. Happy New Year's. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	7. That Could Have Gone Worse

Hiashi and Hinata returned to the Hyuuga Clan Compound in silence. Hinata couldn't tell what her father was thinking. Without words,they retired to a tea room.

"Leave us, Hiashi ordered a Branch member.

The other Hyuuga bowed and left.

"Now...Hinata, before we begin I would like to say something," the man said.

"Father?" Hinata asked, blinking.

Briefly closing his eyes, Hiashi began.

"I admit...that this is all much to take in. For a long time you were a daughter I loved, but heiress I couldn't accept."

The pale eyed girl's breath caught in her throat.

"You loved me?" she asked weakly.

Hiashi didn't flinch, but his eyes communicated how he felt. In a pained tone he said,

"Of course I did. I am not what one would call an expressive man, but I do love both of my daughters with all of my heart. Which leads me into the next problem."

"Which is?" the bluenette said on autopilot.

It had always been something of an open question in Hinata's mind as to whether or not her father had actually loved her. After the first chunin exams they had become closer, but Hinata couldn't actually remember her father ever actually saying those three words. Until now, that is. _So, all I had to do to be sure my father loved me was survive the apocalypse and come back in time, _she thought a little cynically.

"I don't know you. I have a woman in my daughter's body. Who I don't know," the grim faced patriarch answered.

"Father...," Hinata said, a little surprised.

"The obvious solution for this is for me to ask. Hinata, tell me about your life. We can discuss what happened to the clan later," Hiashi continued. "So, Hinata-chan. What happened to my daughter to turn her into such a strong woman?"

Allowing herself a small smile, Hinata began to speak.

X-X-X-X-X-X

TenTen didn't know what to think. This entire story of time travel and the shinobi world ending seemed too far fetched, too insane to be true. Yet the Hokage seemed to believe it. Not to mention those abilities that they showed. It also explained why both Sasuke and Naruto were so different from the last time she had seen them.

She felt kind of bad for Sasuke. Yes, he had been...would be a total ass that betrayed Konoha. But he would end up being forced to watch as his body did things he never wanted to do. To be trapped in one's own skin was a fate that no one wanted.

That, of course, left her other team mate. The mysterious Naruto who apparently became a Hokage just like he always said he would. TenTen stared up at her ceiling. How do you relate to someone who's lost everything? Especially one that seems to be handling it better than you ever could, she wondered.

The brown haired girl shuddered. She remembered those ancient blue eyes Naruto had. So old for someone younger than her. Sasuke had given them an overview of what happened. TenTen felt that he had downplayed the worst of it.

Of course there was also this Akatsuki war that was going to be fought in a couple of years, too. TenTen groaned and sat up. There wasn't going to be a lot of sleep tonight for her.

_I have to find out more, _she thought. With that in mind, she went to the one person who knew should know everything: Naruto Uzumaki.

X-X-X-X-X-X

Hiruzen looked up from his desk. There wasn't any real paperwork, but he liked to pretend long hours. It helped morale and kept people from wondering too much what he did anyway. Besides, even if all the important stuff was dealt with, there was always something or other that he could look into. In front of him stood Kakashi Hatake.

"Kakashi-kun, what brings you back here? I thought you were going home," Sarutobi asked.

Kakashi, for the first time in a long time, looked uneasy.

"I will, sir. I just wanted to talk to you about those two."

Raising an eyebrow, Hiruzen asked,

"Alright, Kakashi-kun. What about?"

Staring straight ahead, the masked jonin said,

"Do you really think they're telling everything?"

"Probably not. They are being very careful to try and control the disruptions to the time line. Yet I believe that, where it counts, they have told all we needed to know," Sarutobi said after a moment.

Kakashi nodded.

"I see. To be honest, I'm worried about Naruto and Sasuke."

"To be expected. Naruto and Sasuke both have a heavy burden. Naruto especially," Hiruzen agreed easily.

Looking a little awkward, the silver haired man said.

"Naruto isn't...right, for someone who went through what he went through."

Sarutobi gave a questioning look towards the jonin.

"Elaborate."

"Hokage-sama, you know that to get the best out of your troops you have to be their father, mother, confessor, friend and more. Naruto, at least according to his psych reports, is one of those people who gets hurt every time he loses a man. So why isn't he half way to breaking down at this point, sir?" Kakashi asked.

The Sandaime nodded.

"A fair question, to which I ask another: what gives a person true strength?"

Kakashi blinked at the apparent non-sequitur.

"Sir?"

Sarutobi smiled wryly.

"Love, odd as it is for a shinobi like me to say it. Some people say that the greatest way to prove your love is to die for something. I like to think that it's _living_ for that thing. "

The masked jonin processed that thought for a moment.

"Hinata...she's the reason he's functional?" he asked.

"I believe so. You're right, war is a terrible thing; it destroys lives and souls. That Naruto's soul is still relatively intact is both a testament to his resilience and Hinata, I think," Hiruzen said.

Kakashi hid a frown.

"What happens if Hinata dies, then?"

The Sandaime's smile dropped.

"Then we will see whether or not Minato's faith in the boy was well placed. Now, I believe you had something to ask about Sasuke?"

The silver haired man said.

"Well, yes. I don't think that Sasuke is acclimating to the new memories as well as Naruto and Hinata."

Hiruzen's eyes narrowed.  
"Really? Do you have any reasons?"

Kakashi shook his head.

"Just that Sasuke seems to have moments where he's not quite there."

"I see. Keep me informed," the Sandaime said after a moment.

The masked jonin gave a slight nod

"Yes, sir."

As Kakashi turned to leave Hirzuen called over his shoulder.

"Kakashi?"

"Sir?" Kakashi said.

"You can not allow your past to haunt you now. We have too much at stake. Focus, at least until after we've dealt with Orochimaru," the Sandaime ordered.

The masked jonin nearly froze at that.

"I'll try, sir." he said.

With that, Kakashi left the office.

X-X-X-X-X-X

Kurenai sipped at her drink as Anko went on about some poor damned soul that she had been working on today. It wasn't that Kurenai didn't care about her friend's job, but after the revelation earlier this evening, she just couldn't bring her self to care about how Anko had worked slivers of bamboo into the man's toe-nail bed one by one until he talked. No, Hinata...was more important. Kurenai didn't know how to feel about this new Hinata... .

"Nai-chan, you alright?" Anko said.

Kurenai blinked, startled out of her thoughts.

"Sorry, Anko. You were saying?"

Anko pouted at her friend.

"Nai-chan, you weren't even paying attention!"

"Sorry," Kurenai said again.

With a speculative look, Anko asked,

"What's with you, Nai-chan?"

Kurenai waved her friend off.

"It's nothing."

Anko just gave her friend a look of both disbelief and annoyance.

"Fine. I just learned some things tonight; still processing them," Kurenai said after a few moments.

A predatory smile spread across Anko's face.

"Oh, secrets? Anything you can share with your old friend?"

Kurenai shook her head.

"No, sorry. This one is blacker than black, as I understand it."

The smile disappeared.

"That secret, eh?"

"Yeah," Kurenai said apologetically.

Anko gave a grunt of annoyance.

"Well, you could at least explain why it's got you so down."

Kurenai shook her head again.

"Anko, I can't get into it. I just...I just feel like someone I knew is gone now."

"Oh...one of those," Anko said.

It happened sometimes. You made friends with a perfectly nice person, only to find out they were a sleeper agent or ANBU. A secret like that had ruined many a relationship.

"Something like that," Kurenai said.

After knocking back her own drink, Anko asked,

"Well, shouldn't you get to know them for real, see if you like 'em?"

Kurenai blinked. It was a remarkably simple answer. If she didn't know what Hinata was like now, wasn't it in both their interests for her to at least try and get to know the girl?

"You're right...," Kurenai mumbled.

"Of course I am, Nai-chan!"

With a chuckle at her friend, Kurenai went back to their earlier conversation.

"Sure, Anko. So, you were saying something about bamboo slivers?"

"Yeah...," Anko went on about the joys of T&I.

Kurenai could only smile. The more things change.

X-X-X-X-X-X

Naruto and Sasuke sat in Naruto's apartment, drinking tea.

"So, that went better than expected," Naruto said.

Sasuke gave Naruto a dry look.  
"Your optimism is inspiring."

The blond shrugged.  
"Sasuke, you know that could have gone a lot worse."

Sasuke nodded in agreement, but said,  
"You know that we haven't heard the last of this."

"Right. Still, only one person demanded your head," Naruto replied.  
Sasuke shook his head. Naruto always tried to put a positive spin on things, but some things can't be made positive.

"For now. You know that I skimmed over the worst of it," Sasuke said.

Frowning, Naruto gave a simple response.  
"It wasn't you, Sasuke."

Silence fell between them. Sasuke finally said,  
"I know. But I still have those memories."

Naruto offers immediately,

"If you need to talk, let me know."

A small half smile seemed out of place on his face. Even after everything, Naruto still stood by him. _Better then my own brother..., _Sasuke mused.  
"I'm good for now."

A knock at the door destroyed the quiet atmosphere.  
"Think we have our first visitor," Naruto says.

The door was opened to reveal TenTen half way through knocking again. Looking inside, she did a double take. Sasuke just casually sitting on the couch sipping tea was not what she expected.

"Sasuke? Why are you at Naruto's place?"

Naruto answered for him.  
"Two friends hanging out."

TenTen gives a look before continuing.

"Right. Anyways, I want to know something."

Nodding sagely, Naruto says.  
"The true secret to public speaking is to pretend they're all naked. Just don't look at the attractive women while doing so."

TenTen glared at him.  
"No, not that, you jerk."

Without missing a beat, Naruto continued.  
"In truth, the Ichiraku family recipe is passed through the mother, not the father."

Sasuke looks a bit startled at that.  
"Really?"

A flicker of emotion went through Naruto as he answered.  
"Yeah. Ayame told me after Teuchi passed away."

TenTen snapped,  
"Focus!"

The two boys looked at her intently.  
"On what?" Naruto asked.

"You're trying to annoy me into going away, aren't you?" TenTen said.

Naruto shrugged.  
"Maybe. Is it working?"

"No," TenTen answered.

"Damn," came from both the boys.

Naruto let out a sigh before putting on a smile.

"Alright, what did you want to know, Panda-chan?"

TenTen let her irritation show.  
"I am not a Panda!"

Naruto snickered.  
"Totally is. Right, Sasuke?"

"Leave me out of this." Sasuke folded his arms.

TenTen suppressed her annoyance again.  
"Anyways. What happened to me?"

The two boys looked at each other.  
"The same thing that happened to everyone else. You died," Naruto said.

"How?" TenTen demanded.

Naruto's face became grim.  
"Like a good ninja. That's all I'm telling you, TenTen."

TenTen huffs in frustration before turning to the other boy.  
"Sasuke, you tell me."

"No." Sasuke was firm on his answer.

"...Why not!" TenTen demanded.

Sasuke let out an irritated grunt.  
"To quote a poet I killed for being annoying, 'Let no one know their fate, so that they are not puppets of fickle destiny.'

TenTen replied, irritated.

"But it's not going to happen now because you've changed things."

Naruto nodded.

"No, probably not. But that's not the point of not telling you."

TenTen snapped,

"Then what is?"

"The point of not telling you is so that you can choose your path freely, TenTen," Naruto answered.

After a moment to process this, TenTen gave her eloquent reply.

"Bullcrap."

Sasuke shook his head.

"No, he's right. If you know the future, it becomes pretty much all consuming, and it's hard to think of other possibilities."

Naruto picked up where Sasuke left off.

"Anyways, Panda-chan-"

TenTen huffed.  
"I'm not Panda-chan!"

Naruto continued without noticing.  
"Anyways, the point is...let's use an example. Let's say I tell you everything, including how because you married a guy named Daisuke, you went and did something kind of stupid that got you killed. If you ever met Daisuke again, would you really let him have a chance, knowing he helped cause your death? Or would you close your heart and deny yourself happiness so that you could live, even though there are no guarantees?"

TenTen frowned. ...Would she? She didn't think she'd let him in. She didn't know. At the same time, not dying seemed like a good thing

"I...probably not. But is that really a bad thing?" she said.

Naruto got an odd look on his face.

"What, giving up love for survival? Depends on your philosophy. But like you just said, it's different now. We can't guarantee the same thing is going to happen as it did before. So why prejudice you?"

TenTen scowled. While she didn't like their reasoning, she could understand it.

"Hmph...can you at least tell me my skills?"

Naruto considered this for a few moments.

"You were one of my best kuinoichi. A mistress of weapons without par. You lived up to Tsunade's reputation; surpassed it, really. For now, you're doing fine. Just consider what you would do against someone who can wield wind."

TenTen frowned. Naruto had told her nothing she couldn't figure out, but she had never asked Naruto to be specific. There might be another way.

"One of these days, I will find out what you're hiding," TenTen said firmly.

Naruto suppressed a sigh.  
"TenTen, I know how curious you are, but some things are better left buried. None of us are going to tell you, so drop it. I will get that as a written order if I have to."

TenTen looked mutinous before clamping down on her emotions. Her tone biting,

"...As you say, Hokage-sama."

The bun haired girl turned and, ramrod straight, marched out of the apartment.

Sasuke and Naruto shared a look as the pair sat in silence for several minutes.

"You staying here tonight?" Naruto asked.

"If you don't mind," Sasuke said.

"No problem, but I'm going to slip out for a bit," Naruto said, getting up.

Sasuke smirked.

"You have fun with your wife."

Naruto blushed.  
"...Nothing like that. We're too young."

Sasuke took a moment to catch on before looking away.  
"I didn't mean it like that."

An awkward silence between the two fell.

"See you later, Sasuke." Naruto said at last.

Before Sasuke could respond, Naruto disappeared.

X-X-X-X-X-X

Inside the Hokage tower, various people burned the midnight oil to finish various tasks. Fuu of ROOT was one such man.

Fuu mechanically worked through the documents that he had been assigned. Even though he had been trained to do his duty without complaint, managing what was essentially clerical work was something of a step down. A mere month ago, he had been planting evidence of a Kusa sponsored coup in Takigakure, the better to bind that nation to Konoha.

Danzo-sama didn't truly believe alliances could last, but they were useful tools until the inevitable betrayal. It had been hoped that Takigakure would eventually make itself an out and out vassal to Konoha. Danzo-sama knew it already was in everything but name.

No, this work was beneath a man with his skills. Fuu frowned at the odd thought. There was to be nothing but loyalty to Danzo-sama and Konoha. Yet he was...unhappy to be doing a vital if unglamorous job for Konoha. What was this? Was the conditioning breaking down; would he be forced to feel again?

No. He wouldn't, Fuu decided. He would not let himself become that...thing again. Broken by the strength of Inoichi and cast out from the clan. Slowly drinking himself into an early grave. He, Fuu of ROOT, would not allow it. He had come too far and worked too hard to go back to that weak, emotionally compromised man.

Another stack of paperwork went through Fuu's hands even as his mind became locked into an old conflict with itself.

X-X-X-X-X-X

Hiashi sat in what could be generously called a den but was more accurately his office. With the removal of the Elders, much of the work he had previously pushed off on to them was back in his hands. The paperwork proved a welcome distraction from the troubling conversation he had had with his daughter.

It wasn't that he wasn't proud of Hinata; no, indeed he was impressed with her. Impressed that despite the world coming to an end, his daughter had found her steel and stood against all that attempted to destroy her and those she loved.

But that steel was so very brittle. Hiashi was a master of reading people, and more importantly, he knew his daughter. For all of his...indiscretions with raising her, Hiashi knew her. He knew how she used to watch over Naruto from afar, braid Hanabi's hair, and try so hard to cheer Neji up when all he showed was contempt.

Hiashi knew the gentle heart that Hinata had, so much like her mother's, was breaking, and he had no idea how to fix it. The problem was that Hinata didn't realize it herself. How she had that same blank stare that he had during the last war. Hinata was on the edge of burnout. With no immediate threats to keep her at constant fight or flight awareness, her mind was catching up. No, Hinata didn't know this. However, he, as her father, had. But there was still no way to fix it.

With a sigh, Hiashi set down his pen and looked at the full moon. In truth, he did know one person that could help his daughter. Naruto Namikaze, her husband and love, could give her what he could not. Still, Naruto himself was also dealing with all the things Hinata was. The Hyuuga patriarch could only hope they were strong enough and wise enough to help each other.

That didn't make the waiting any easier. Picking up his pen, Hiashi went back to work.

X-X-X-X-X-X

Naruto slipped into the Hyuuga compound. Even with the old purge, the guard patterns and layout hadn't changed enough to give him real trouble. Ordinarily he'd just go through the front door, but it was too late. Normal visitors would be told to come back tomorrow. Naruto wished he still had the clout of being the Hokage behind him. He didn't have it, though, along with so many other things. The control, the power that had been at his fingertips was gone. Still, he had gained that power once. He would do so again, only this time without wasting his efforts on short cuts like the Kyuubi.

Shaking his head, Naruto stopped outside of Hinata's room listening for the sound of anyone near.

He could only hear the soft breathing of his Hinata-chan. Naruto knocked on her door softly. Exactly 3 times in 3 seconds. It was something of a code that they had developed. Had to with the long years on the run from Orochimaru.

The door opened to a somewhat sleepy Hinata.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, coming instantly awake.

"Hinata-chan," Naruto said as he smiled at her.

Hinata looked around worriedly.

"What's wrong?"

Keeping his grimace suppressed, Naruto said.

"Nothing's wrong. I just...had to see you."

Hinata shook her head.  
"You...shouldn't be here. If someone sees you..."

Naruto just grinned.  
"Hinata-chan, have I ever cared what anyone thinks?"

Hinata gave a reflective look at him.

"Put that way, no."

The two stood there a moment. Naruto was not sure what he was going to say. He just needed to see her, just to get some alone time with the woman he loved. As he studied Hinata's face, he commented,  
"You seem at peace."

Hinata shrugged.  
"I had a talk with my father."

Naruto didn't quite growl out his next question or anything.  
"And what did he have to say?"

Hinata picked up on it anyway.  
"Naruto-kun, calm down. It was...good."

With a a scowl, Naruto said.  
"The man who emotionally-"

Only for Hinata to cut him off.  
"It wasn't emotional abuse. Not intentionally."

The scowl fell away.  
"He hurt you."

Hinata gently caressed Naruto's face.  
"...Yes, he did. But Naruto, my father is many things. Above all, he's only human."

Naruto whispered,

"Doesn't make it right."

A soft smile.  
"No, it doesn't, but it does mean that I can forgive him. You know how much I love my family."

For a few moments Naruto just stood there, enjoying Hinata's touch.

"Yeah, I know. It's just...this whole night has me messed up."

Hinata nodded and dropped her hand.

"While I can't really let you in my room, give me a few minutes and meet me outside, okay?"

Half jokingly, Naruto let out a frustrated,

"It shouldn't be a problem for me to stay in the same room as my wife."

Hinata patted Naruto's shoulder.

"My dearest Naruto-kun, patience."

"Hai, hai," the blond said before leaving Hinata alone.

X-X-X-X-X-X

Outside the compound, Hinata smiled as she saw Naruto waiting for her there. Even with everything else that happened tonight, the one constant in her life was still true. Naruto loved her with everything he was.

It was a welcome point of stability in an otherwise chaotic life.

"I missed you," Naruto said.

Hinata smiled.

"We were only apart for a few minutes... ."

Naruto just grinned.  
"Still missed you."

She missed this, Hinata realized. The goofy Naruto that would go out of his way to show how he cared. The War...the War meant he hadn't showed up much.

"So, what do you plan to do, Naruto-kun?" she asked.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Naruto answered.  
"Well, I thought I would give my wife a moonlight walk."

It was late, and there were so many things they had to do in the morning. Still, Hinata wanted to spend real time with her husband.

"That sounds wonderful," she said.

Naruto extended a hand.

"If you'll come with me, Hime?"

Hinata grabbed his hand, and the pair walked off.

X-X-X-X-X-X

The walk had ended with Naruto and Hinata both sitting against a tree looking up at the sky. They had awkwardly made small talk, even as they recognized that this evening had become even stranger.  
Naruto and Hinata both had to come to grips that the War wasn't on now. They had loved and courted during one of the bloodiest wars in history. Now they had to love each other in peace, without the omnipresent of death behind them.

Struggling to break the awkward silence that had fallen between them, Naruto said,

"You know, you never did tell me what you and your father talked about."

Hinata gave a shrug.

"We talked about a lot of things. Who I was, what I had done, who I loved... ."

Naruto tensed. Hiashi had died for him, but the the two had never been close friends.

"And how he take it that last?"

Hinata smiled at him.

"Well you...impressed him tonight with the Rasengan."

"I always worried...," Naruto trailed off.

Hinata shook her head.  
"Naruto-kun my...my father died for you. Do not think he didn't like you."

Catching the stutter and guessing it's meaning, Naruto put an arm around Hinata.

"It gets to you too, doesn't it?" he asked.

As she curled into Naruto's side, Hinata gave a simple,

"Hai."

Naruto asked gently,

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Hinata shook her head.

"It's nothing we haven't already discussed."

The blond suppressed a frown. He wanted to help more...but he had to wait for her to open up.

"Alright, Hinata-chan. I trust you."

Hinata gave a grateful look.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun. ...Hold me?"

"Of course," Naruto said.

Naruto pulled Hinata on to his lap and wrapped both arms around her.

As Hinata rested her head on Naruto's shoulder, she felt the dark thoughts leave her. Even as Naruto's breathing slowed and he fell asleep with her in his arms, Hinata felt content. Orochimaru was coming, but they would win. She'd finally be able to have the life with Naruto she always wanted.

As they both slept under the night sky, on the cold ground, for the first time in a week they slept soundly.

AN: Hi everyone, um...sorry for taking so long to update. I hope that you enjoy this chapter. I would like to thank my Beta Bookworm 702 for helping me with this chapter and general editing. I also thank you readers for giving my story attention. As this is coming out on Christmas Eve; a Merry Christmas to you all. Or Happy whatever Holiday you celebrate. Have a good one  
-gman391


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